Artificial
by Wedgely
Summary: Tails harbors a horrible secret hitherto unknown by anyone, including himself. As he becomes privy to this dark truth, it may destroy his relationship with his friends in more ways than one. Meanwhile, the threat of Ivo Robotnik lingers, and the Acorn Kingdom is on the verge of war. Tails had better get a handle on his inner demons quick; the fate of the planet might depend on it.
1. Prologue

A golden sun cast its light down through a cloudless sky upon the sprawling canvas of the Mystic Ruins. Far removed from the hustle and bustle of cities such as Station Square or Mobotropolis, the region was a bastion of peace and natural beauty. Which made it the perfect location for a particular workshop of interest.

The young two-tailed fox leaned back in his desk chair, arms crossed behind his head. As he gazed toward the lofty ceiling of his workshop, it abruptly dawned on him just how long he'd been staring at the screen.

_Hours, maybe?_ He checked his watch.

_Wow, _six _hours._

In truth, this wasn't completely out of the ordinary for him. Miles "Tails" Prower had quite the reputation among his inner circle for throwing himself into his work fully and completely, even beyond the point of what a normal observer would call "sanity" or "reason". Seeing Tails with a soldering iron in his hand or a welding mask on his head was as natural as seeing bark on a tree. Still, this was a bit excessive even by his standards. A full six hours of coding was tedious work, to be sure. But for Tails, engineer extraordinaire, it was a labor of love for his most impassioned creation: the Tornado.

The memories came flooding back thinking of the machine. What began as a single, propeller-driven biplane, the Tornado I, had morphed over the years and through many iterations before finally culminating in the Tornado X-1, a screaming fighter jet designed to slice through the skies via the righteous fury of her afterburners.

Today's project (a marathon one, apparently) was to improve coding for the AI in the targeting computers, an area that had been giving the young fox quite a bit of grief over the past few weeks. He was a mechanic at heart, meaning his coding skills were lagging in comparison. Ever the determinator, though, and with more than a touch of genius, there was little in the way of technology that could stump the young mastermind. Even through the haze of fatigue and a generous amount of coffee, he was confident in his latest updates.

The Tornado X-1 was a tried and true, streak-of-lightning machine, doubtlessly capable of handling the most imposing of enemies. And this plane had enemies, none more prominent than the infamous Ivo Robotnik: sworn enemy of Mobius and constant shadow over the people of the Acorn Kingdom, with his mechanized creations and sprawling industrial complexes lashed together for the sole purpose of complete global domination, which evidently necessitated shooting down foxes in jets. He'd yet to succeed in that endeavor, Tails was proud to say, but nevertheless Robotnik and his calculating intellect kept those who would oppose him vigilant.

As Tails ruminated on this, it struck him that he should probably make a visit to the little fox's room, considering he'd been sitting in a chair for the better part of his waking hours today. He hopped away from his desk and, after a healthy stretch, strolled across the shop floor toward the front of the building. It was cathartic, sometimes, to see all of his creations on display. Tails wasn't a vain person, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the sight of all the things he'd put so much time and effort into laid out before him did fill him with a profound sense of pride and enthusiasm.

_And hopefully, I can get this targeting system squared away by tomorrow. _He thought as he entered the more modestly constructed area of his workshop. He might have called it the administrative area, if he had any employees. As it stood, though, it was merely his home-not-so-far-away-from-home that provided accommodation for any late-night tinkering sessions, of which there were many.

After leaving the restroom, the fox felt a familiar buzz from his wrist communicator, and a grin spread across his face when he realized who was on the other end.

"Hey hey, T2!" came the carefree timbre of Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius, and Tails' surrogate big brother, "What's new in the Mystic Ruins?"

"Not much, Blue," Tails responded, "Just some Tornado maintenance. Should make life a little easier for us when you-know-who rears his ugly head."

"The wiz kid strikes again!" the hedgehog responded, "Hey, listen, you're not busy tonight are ya?"

Tails took a quick glance at his whiteboard, where all of his current engagements were meticulously organized and tracked. He'd gotten ahead of schedule with his binge coding session and didn't have anything in particular that needed attending to - at least not until he could get in some parts for a new ray blaster he'd been scheming up.

"No, not particularly. What's up; coming back this way?"

"Yep! Figured we could hang, watch a couple movies. Been a while since we had a bros' night out!"

"Hey, yeah! Come to think of it, I've been craving a good B-movie. Sounds great," the fox said with a smile he was sure could be heard over the signal. Tails was glad Sonic called. Even he knew that overworking himself like he had been the past couple days wasn't healthy. Movie night was just what the doctor, or hedgehog in this case, ordered to refresh his mind, "Around, uh, let's say 7-ish?"

"Right on. I've got tons of DVD's up in my room we haven't watched yet. We can dig through 'em and decide what to watch when I get there. See ya soon, bro!"

"See ya, Sonic."

Tails hung up the communicator and made his way back to the workstation to back up his code, mentally going through a checklist of things in his fridge. Supplies should be sufficient for movie night, he hoped.

For all intents and purposes, Sonic lived with Tails at his place near the Mystic Ruins. He had his own room there, all of his stuff was there, his mail was delivered there, but in actual fact the hedgehog was a rolling stone. At any given moment he could be blazing across any nook and cranny of the Acorn Kingdom, getting into various degrees of misadventure or general tomfoolery, but always with an eye out for anyone in need.

In short, Sonic roamed often, not out of any kind of malice or neglect for his friends, but simply because that's what brought him joy. It's who he was. More poetic minds may have called him a free spirit – a wandering soul. Sonic preferred to think of it as his sense of curiosity manifest. The feeling of spontaneity and unpredictability washed him in a wave of contentment that never grew stale.

That said, however, Sonic the Hedgehog knew where his home was, and who his friends were. He never went very long without returning to rest his hat for a few days, catch up on things, and spend some time with his little bro before speeding off again into the horizon. And above all else, he never, ever, was without his communicator.

_A true blue friend, in more than one sense._ Tails thought, and chuckled at the pun.

_Man,_ _I really hope he doesn't track mud in again._


	2. All I Knew Was That I Was Afraid

A project, but more than that. An exercise in patience, but more than that, still. The culmination of his genius? Yes, that would do nicely.

A gravelly baritone assaulted the chamber.

"Computer, let's check on our favorite appliance this evening, hm?"

The thrill never lost its edge for the doctor. The knowledge that this wholly unnatural series of events had been brought forth by his own hand. Twisting and bending the natural order into something cold and rigidly to his design, it was what he lived for. Why, it made him feel like a veritable god. He was a god, in his own eyes, and soon in the eyes of all Mobians, whether they liked it or not.

They most certainly would not.

"Affirmative, Doctor. Accessing remote connection. Connection established. Launching ocular feed."

"Oooooh, it's a beautiful thing. The time draws ever nearer," the good doctor muttered within his cathedral of steel, as the titanic monitor in front of him flashed to life, "Each passing second is a single step in the grand march toward my glory.

"Soon enough, soon enough. Those little cretins, they _will_ die, the empire will crumble to sand, and all in the most delicious of ways.

* * *

True to the hedgehog's word, at precisely 7:00 a rapid knocking resonated through the house. The front door practically shook from the force.

"Sonic, you live here! You don't need to knock!" Tails shouted from the study.

"I need you to open the door!"

"Open the…huh?"

Tails quickly marked his place in the book he'd been reading and made his way to the front of the house. He rounded the corner into the living room and opened the front door to be greeted two blue legs, and a stack of pizza boxes and soda bottles obscuring the upper half of what could only be Sonic.

"Thanks, bud!" he proclaimed as he entered the house and promptly plopped his treasure trove of junk food onto the coffee table.

"Sonic, we have plenty of food in the kitchen, you didn't need to…"

"Up bup bup!" Sonic interrupted, wagging an index finger in front of his face, "No movie night is complete without an inordinate amount of greasy pizza! It's the law!"

"No," Tails retorted, grinning "I don't think it is."

"Well then that's why I should make the laws," Sonic replied with a laugh,

"You gonna petition the King for that?," Tails fired back, "So, you ready to go search the archives? I've been kind of in a horror movie mood lately."

"Totally, but hey, before we get this everything started, how about we head over to the workshop? I wanna see what you've been working on with the Tornado that's gonna give our old pal Ivo such a headache."

"Oh," Tails had nearly forgotten that he'd mentioned his work offhandedly to Sonic during their call, "It's nothing aesthetic, mostly internal systems stuff. I'm afraid it wouldn't be that interesting."

Sonic gave him a playful punch in the arm, "Dude, you and that plane have saved my spiny behind more times than I can count. If it helps us take it to Egghead, then it's plenty interesting to me. So c'mooooon!", Sonic said, enunciating the last sentence with an exaggerated whine in his voice.

"Fair enough," Tails responded with a chuckle, retaliating with a slug of his own. He'd long passed the hero worship phase of years gone by, the awe-inspired reverence with which he regarded Sonic in his younger days, but Tails still held enormous respect for his older brother, and hearing his words of encouragement never failed to bring a smile to the young fox's face and give him a hearty boost of confidence.

The walk from the house to the shop was brief, the not-quite-cool but also not-particularly-warm air of the summer twilight surrounding them as they strolled. The summer in this part of Mobius doused the area in a blanket of humidity, but Tails never particularly minded. In his opinion, it only intensified the experience of the regions natural splendor. Once they reached the shop,the inventor entered the passcode into the keypad by the door and held an eye up to the retinal scanner, which finally gave the two access once the authentication system had been sufficiently appeased.

Once inside, Tails flipped the switch and watched as his workspace was bathed in a brilliant glow, the low hum of the light fixtures radiating throughout the room. It was a familiar sight, one that he'd seen hundreds of times before, and that aerated a distinct sense of belonging and purpose. He brought Sonic over to the workstation he'd been practically glued to a few hours before, and gave the hedgehog a rundown of the setup while the PC booted up.

"Basically," he began, "I've been working on making certain combat systems in the Tornado more efficient so that, in a fight, we can focus more on the battle itself, and less on the small things."

Tails walked over to the workbench next to the PC, upon which rested a large, cylindrical metal device so complex that even thinking about what inner workings might lie beneath the shell nearly gave Sonic vertigo. Thankfully, Tails anticipated that eventuality, and quickly began running down the basics.

"This is the CPU, well, one of them at least, that's usually tucked away inside the Tornado. You know how the cockpit displays things on screens to give me warnings and readouts, right?" Sonic nodded.

"Well this computer is part of that. It deals with anti-missile protocols and is also the hub for the for the targeting systems. I had some rudimentary AI programs installed to automatically detect enemies and lock onto them before I fired the heat-seeking missiles, which is a really helpful system and can save valuable seconds on the battlefield…when it works."

"Ah," Sonic said, starting to get the picture, "So I take it the program wasn't exactly reliable?"

"Well, it was reliable enough to be useful, but yeah, it wasn't the most efficient it could be. It would miss enemies here and there, or take a couple seconds too long to target, by which time I could have done it manually. It also sometimes lagged behind certain Robotnik drones, which is what really worried me. Those guys give us enough trouble as is; we don't need the targeting AI working against us, too.

"So that brings us here!" He continued as he moved over to the computer terminal.

The monitor had by then come to life and displayed a window with a black background and lines upon lines upon lines of code that seemed to stretch into infinity, at least as far as Sonic was concerned. There were other programs open in various separate windows as well, only some of which Sonic could recognize: a heatmap of some sort of mechanical assembly, a graph representing what looked like speed over a given time, and solitaire. The code, however, dominated the monitor.

"So…this is…?"

"Algorithms!"

"Algorithms."

"Built from the ground up!" the fox beamed. If he was reluctant to talk about his project earlier, he was practically gushing about it now.

"They're systems within systems, in a way, designed to learn and adapt to different combat scenarios through a complex series of neural network pathways. Meaning, in building the commands for the AI, I didn't have to program and account for each and every possibility we might encounter, I just had to 'teach' the AI what to do based on certain parameters, like weapon strength and target priority."

"Tails, bud, usually I'm pretty good at keeping up, but you're kinda losing me here."

"Oh, sorry," Tails apologized, slowing his cadence down to a more conversational speed, "Basically, it boils down to this: the computer can take information in, and once it's analyzed all the variables in a fraction of a millisecond, it will figure out the best way to target enemies based on our current situation."

"Oh oh oh! I think I get it!" Sonic began with a burst of enthusiasm," So it's not just following instructions, it can make its own instructions?"

"Exactly!" Tails confirmed with a wink, "Which means I won't have to babysit a bunch of computer screens in the pilot seat, and we can focus on delivering the pain to Robotnik."

"You're the man, little bro!" exclaimed Sonic, grabbing his brother in a headlock and ruffling his hair, "So how do we know if it works?"

"I've got a testing session coming up soon near Green Hill. King Maximilian is arranging for me to use one of G.U.N.'s military bases to try it out in a controlled setting."

"Woah, seriously? I thought we were still kinda in hot water with the G.U.N. higher-ups."

"Well...we are. But we worked something out. I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but King Max is…pretty persuasive."

Sonic let loose a guffaw, "Don't I know it! You remember the time he stared me down so hard for hitting on Sal in front of him?"

"Oh man!" Tails exclaimed, and burst out laughing as well, "You called me afterward and were like, 'Dude! If I go to jail, you'll bail me out, right?'!"

The two shared a few moments of raucous laughter between them before deciding movie night could wait no longer. Tails shut down the terminal and the two headed back toward home, darkness having fully enveloped the landscape while they were inside. The sounds of cicadas and bullfrogs danced among the trees and provided the soundtrack to another picturesque Mystic Ruins night. Tails glanced over at Sonic as they continued on their way, and the thought of how lucky he was to have a friend and brother who was so supportive entered his mind, not for the first time. So willing to listen to him ramble on endlessly about topics that were far over the hedgehog's head, yet he always followed the best he could with rapt attention. So enthusiastic for action and excitement.

Sonic, as jovial and often sarcastic as he was, held a heart the size of all of Mobius. Whenever a soul was in danger, Sonic would step up in any way available to him. This altruistic disposition was seemingly woven into his DNA; it was the way it had always been. It's what drew him to the hero life, what spurred him on through hardship, and above all, it's what brought the two of them together, and for that, Tails was more grateful than he could ever put into words.

He turned his attention forward as they approached the front porch, and the two were in the highest of spirits as they entered the house once more and bounded up the stairs to raid the movie shelf.

* * *

The aftermath was as cataclysmic as expected. Empty soda cans were the dominant feature of the coffee table, with a couple of empty pizza boxes laid out among the debris. The end credits had begun to roll and movie number two of their late-night double feature was in the rear-view.

"I don't get it!" exclaimed the hedgehog, reclining on one of the couches with a half empty can in his hand, "So he was a ghost the whole time?"

"I…think so?" pondered the kitsune, feet crossed and propped on the coffee table.

"But everyone could see him! He touched so many things! How is he even a ghost at that point?"

"What else would he be?"

"I dunno…just a dude who died and then ignored it?"

Tails let out a surprised laugh at the turn of phrase, nearly choking on his own soda in the process. He hadn't realized how much he needed this: a chance to let loose and just be. As stimulating and exciting as tinkering and inventing was, it was still taxing, and often took a lot out of him. Sonic had always been good about bringing balance to Tails' life. It was one of the many benefits of their friendship, and Tails knew the inverse was true as well.

He'd noticed how Sonic was more mindful nowadays – less willing to jump to conclusions, more likely to consider his options and make responsible decisions. It wasn't coincidence; Tails was rubbing off on him just as much as he was on young mechanic.

"Maybe you can hit up some message boards online with your hot takes," Tails jokingly offered. Now that the movie was finished, however, something had occurred to young fox that he'd forgotten he wanted to inquire about:

"Oh, hey, I've been meaning to ask: what've you been up to the past couple days? We were so busy talking about the Tornado, you never mentioned it."

Sonic took the last gulp of his soda, tossing it effortlessly into the trash can across the room. "I was down South, helping out some folks in Splendor."

"Splendor?"

"Yeah, you know Splendor. Little fishing village, 'bout 1,000 people? Anyway, they had a bad storm down there while I was in the area and the tide came in real high. I got some people out of danger during the flood, and kinda stuck around for a while to do whatever I could to help after the water went back. No casualties, though, thankfully. Just a good thing I was nearby, I guess."

"No kidding," Tails concurred, "That's why you're out there, though, yeah? To help."

"Absolutely," Sonic replied, then his expression shifted to a more pensive one, "But I guess…it's also because there's always something out there you've never seen before. It's exciting, knowing that you don't know, y'know? Whatever's over the next hill could just be another hill, or it could change your life."

"That's a great way to look at things, actually," Tails commented, "Well, at any rate, I'm glad you are who you are, in that way. Otherwise…I...I might not...well, you know."

There was a beat of silence before Sonic sat upright on the couch. He cast his eyes down at the floor for a moment before looking up at Tails, "Do you remember the day I found you at all?"

"I do. But it's really fuzzy. I was pretty…out of it."

"You were, big time." Sonic confirmed, "In more ways than one. You were covered in mud, your eyes were darting everywhere, you'd only speak to me a couple words at a time. Wasn't a pretty sight."

"I don't doubt it. All I can remember is these thoughts running through my head," Tails recalled. He began to rub his hands together, "None of them really comprehensible or even coherent. All I knew was that I was afraid."

"I could tell that much. Thing is, though, you never lashed out at me when I tried to get close or talk to you. I could tell you had a great heart just from that. You were in about as rough shape as a guy could be and you still were willing to trust me - to see the good in others. That means a lot, bud."

There was a longer silence, then. Neither of them knew when the atmosphere had gotten so heavy in the room. Late-night conversations had a way of doing that. It was Tails who finally broke the stillness.

"So, the flood in Splendor. It looked…natural?"

Sonic looked up, a slightly quizzical look on his face, "Yeah. Like I said, just from those big storms that rolled through. Why?"

Tails leaned forward on the couch, resting his arms on his knees, "I guess I'm just anxious about Robotnik. Whenever he goes this long without making himself known I worry that he's plotting."

"I know what you mean. A guy who's that loudmouthed going quiet just doesn't seem right, but how long has it been since we heard anything out of him? Four months?"

Tails nodded, "At least. Usually he'll make some kind of threat or declaration in that amount of time, even if it's hollow. He's too egotistical to lay low without cause."

"I understand where you're coming from, T. But, I dunno, maybe we're just overthinking it."

"Maybe. But I'd rather overthink it and be wrong than disregard it and be caught unaware."

"Fair enough," Sonic hopped off the couch, stretched, and let out a mighty yawn, "All I know is I'm full of pizza and it's time for bed."

"Yeah, I should hit the hay soon, too," Tails admitted, picking up the remote and switching the TV off. He quickly glanced up at the wall clock, which, to his surprise, read 2:30am, "Oh man, I _really_ should hit the hay soon."

"Say, if you're not too busy in the workshop, how 'bout a run some time tomorrow? Maybe head up to Station Square and grab a bite?"

"Sure, sounds great," Tails replied with a smile, "Night, Sonic."

"Night, bro. See you tomorrow."

* * *

The racoon entered through the doorway into a sparsely yet carefully decorated office. He held a manilla folder in his hand, which he passed to the coyote behind the desk, and stood at attention.

"Sir, these are some forms you'll need to fill out and sign by next week. They're pertaining to the live fire drill the king has arranged at the base."

"At ease." The coyote opened the folder and skimmed through the documents within, a look of dissatisfaction plain to see upon his face, "For Prower, right?"

"Correct."

The coyote flopped the stack of papers on his desk in exasperation, "Like we have any choice."

"Have you let King Maximilian know of your...reservations, sir?"

"Ah, what good would it do, Howard?" the coyote responded, "Those damn kids have the whole royal family in their pocket. If I raise a huge stink about it all we'll get is a bunch of grief from the government and even more paperwork." He leaned back in his worn leather chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Nah, it's better to let the little superfreaks have their fun and get out of our hair as quickly as possible."

"You feel pretty strongly about this, then?" the racoon broached.

The coyote nodded, "The King, I admire him in a lotta ways. But he's too...trusting. Far too trusting, especially to be the leader of a nation. He sees how those kids, the hedgehog and his crew, work with chaos energy, and thinks of 'em as superheroes. What they are is a ticking time bomb ready to fuck us over. Whether it would be intentional or not, I really don't know."

The raccoon was unsure exactly how to respond.

"All the same, sir," he finally ventured, "the test is scheduled for next Thursday, 0900 hours. The relevant information is in the dossier for you to review."

The coyote sighed as he gathered the forms back into order and placed them on top of the envelope on the desk, "Thank you, Howard, I'll have them ready by tomorrow evening. You're dismissed."


	3. Algorithms

**Hey, let's wait until chapter three to start doing author's notes for no reason. Good call, Wedge.**

**First couple chapters were a little slow going, but now the plot starts to pick up a little. I'm going to try my best to update this bad boy as consistently as I can. The goal is a maximum of two weeks between chapters, but hopefully less than that. Also, big shout out to Leodragon678 for beta reading these first few chapters for me! He's a heck of a writer and if you haven't checked out his stuff yet, I highly recommend it.  
**

**Cool, now that all that's done, let's got on with it!**

* * *

_He remembered very little. Nothing, as a matter of fact. He remembered nothing at all._

_The brambles and brush clawed at his hide, mud and dirt clinging to every strand of fur. He was tangentially aware of the pain, but it was a distant thing, like swimming below the surface and hearing a scream from above. Thoughts flitted from his mind almost as quickly as he could form them, and time began to blur into a steady whir._

_Day became night became day became another night. Slowly, his broken mind registered that he should be afraid, and so he was. He made his way through the underbrush as quickly as he could manage, without the slightest hint of grace. The fact that he could walk at all was a miracle, but the significance of it was lost on him._

_To what end he was trudging through this tropical hell, he didn't know. But he knew he had to get _somewhere. _Panic was setting in like it was the first time he'd ever felt it. He screamed. No words. For no reason in particular. It just seemed like the thing to do._

_The sun was at its zenith when, through the staggered trees, he saw it. A smooth, light brown expanse of tightly packed dirt. A road._

"_Finally," he said to himself, voice hoarse and shaky. He could speak. That would be useful._

_He hobbled through the treeline a short time later with trembling knees and blurred vision. The road most likely wasn't highly trafficked, but he would take what he could get. It was civilization; he could figure the rest out later. He laid down for a moment of respite, only to find he couldn't get back up. This must be the exhaustion finally catching up._

_Though he didn't know how long exactly he stayed immobilized on the side of the road, he knew his daylight hours were running thin. Periodically he would try to rise, to little success, but at least he was in plain sight. As long as he could be seen, he could be helped, or at least that was the hope he held fast to. After what must have been hours, he heard a sound in the distance. It was a strange sound, almost like tires on the road, but with no discernable engine noise, and moving at an impossibly high rate of speed._

_The dust cloud began to appear above the trees shortly thereafter, and soon he could make out the source: a vague blue figure blazing down the path towards him. Before he could even ponder what it was he got his answer, as the blue speck was now upon him. He reached his hand up feebly to flag down the arrival. It was a mobian - a hedgehog, to be precise._

_The visitor slowed to a stop as he approached the battered form in the road, concern taking hold of his features._

"_Woah. Hey, man. What happened to you?" his voice was soft, gentle._

_He stared up at the hedgehog, unsure where to go from here. He'd finally found someone...and that was as far as he'd planned. The hedgehog knelt down on one knee, studying him with barely concealed sorrow._

"_Do you live around here?"_

"_D...don't know."_

_Okay, he'd responded. This was progress. The words were slow to come out, ungainly. But he could communicate._

"_What's your name, kid?"_

"_Miles."_

_He hadn't even thought about it. He couldn't remember who gave the name to him, how long he'd had it, he just knew his name was Miles._

_Apprehension began to set it yet again. But this was what he wanted, right? He'd been looking for someone, anyone, and he had succeeded. Now was the time. The pain had long become more than a nuisance. It was quickly veering into unbearable territory. He couldn't move more than a few inches at a time. He knew nothing of who or where he was. All he knew was that he was afraid._

_He met the hedgehog's eyes, and felt tears crowd his own vision._

"_Help me."_

* * *

Tails groaned and rolled over in bed. Red LED lights were the only thing that met his eyes against the dark backdrop of his bedroom. The clock next to him read 3:31am.

_So much for getting a good night's rest, _the fox thought as he sat upright. He rubbed his eyes and sat for a while in the silence, taking a moment to decide what his next move would be. Sleep was proving to be a fruitless pursuit; he figured all the time he'd spent in front of a computer screen the past few days had sent his circadian rhythm into a tailspin. Sonic always did tell him spending too much time at the workshop would…

_Wait…_

_The workshop!_

Tails slipped out of bed and hurried over to open the window. He had to crane his neck to see the other building from the angle of his bedroom, but sure enough, through the windows of the "administration" section, he could see stark white light emanating out into the darkness of the surrounding countryside.

Tails silently cursed himself, and briskly walked over to put on his shoes. He couldn't believe he'd left the lights on nearly all night. His electric bills were already high enough as it was, he didn't need to compound that with such simple carelessness, also known as "forgetting to turn out the lights like an idiot".

_Well, _he figured, tugging at his laces, _at least the walk over might help me clear my head and get back to sleep._

As one would expect in the wee hours of the morning, the house was awash in silence as Tails made his way down the stairs as quickly as he dared, careful not to wake Sonic sleeping a few rooms down. Once he was outside, he turned on his flashlight and began the trek up to the workshop, his frustration at himself lingering as he walked.

_Great work, Miles. You can build a plane from the ground up but apparently flipping a lightswitch is beyond your grasp._

After a few minutes' walk, avoiding the odd molehill here and there, Tails once again disabled the security systems and entered the shop, this time only triggering the muted reserve power that gave him just enough light for visibility. As the kitsune maneuvered his way through the space, eyes on the illuminated room across the shop floor, the low-light conditions proved to be dark enough for him to miss a rogue mechanical creeper laying in his path.

The rolling board gave way almost instantly as Tails unknowingly trod on it, sending the fox flying backwards into a nearby workbench. His right elbow slammed hard into the edge of the unyielding surface, before he fell to the floor on his back. He could hear the creeper clattering against the far wall, echoing throughout the large room and bringing the whole scene to an almost comedic end.

Tails sat there on the concrete for a moment, grimacing as he waited for the intense pain that would inevitably overtake his arm any moment now…

...and it never came.

Tails slowly opened his eyes, and a slight panic began to run through him. He should be in agony right now; why wasn't he? Had he hit his joint badly enough to do nerve damage? That was a terrifying thought. He slowly began to move his right arm up, and found that everything moved as it should and felt perfectly normal, as if he hadn't just obliterated his funny bone as part of a rather impressive display of slapstick.

_Something isn't adding up here. I practically destroyed my elbow just now, and I know I've been hit by less force before and still felt it. What gives?_

Thankful for the lack of pain, yet still unsatisfied in the way of answers, the fox slowly, trepidatiously, turned his arm and bent his elbow, expecting to feel a wave of belated sensation any time now. Still, none came. But, he did notice something that raised louder, much more serious, alarm bells in his head.

_I...I have to be sleepwalking or something._

There, plain to see even in the relatively dim light of the workshop, three network connection ports stared straight back at him, sitting within his arm as naturally they would a computer tower. But no, these weren't simple USB or HDMI ports, they almost looked like…

_Infiniband?  
_

Indeed, the young mechanic had been working with digital tech enough lately to identify a high-speed, industrial grade infiniband switcher, a standard format for transferring information in high-performance computing, even when it appeared to be embedded within his arm. But, _why _was it embedded within his arm? It never had been before, obviously. It wasn't even there a mere two minutes ago, not until…

Tails glanced back up at the edge of the workbench he had just become a little too acquainted with, and then back at the network ports still resting in his upper extremity, as if waiting for an order. Finally, the kitsune rose to his feet, keeping his arm level in front of him, not knowing if any sudden movements might cause his new discovery to retreat back to whence it came. He set off toward the back of the workshop, this time much more careful to avoid any stray equipment. His destination was obvious: the server room.

_If this is a dream I'm at least going to get the most I can out of it _he reasoned as he made his way into through the hallway off from the main floor, and then ducked into the third door on the left.

He hurried over to the main terminal, its large triple monitor setup and walls of technological miscellania as imposing as the complex systems and immense computing capacity over which it held dominion, and flipped the power switch. Thankfully, the young fox had quite a bit of experience with the particular interface that was, apparently, intermingling with his biology. It wasn't a standard piece of equipment, obviously modified quite a bit, but the basic workings looked to be the same.

As Tails located some spare cables on a nearby rack and began unraveling them, still mindful of his arm, he realized that this was, indeed, no dream. Now that he was away from the haze of sleep and under the stark white glow of the server room lights, it was all far too real. The mild panic he'd felt earlier slowly resurfaced. Who had installed this in his arm? He'd never had major surgery, and had only been knocked unconscious twice in his adventures, neither time long enough for something this major to be performed. Whatever the case, he could only hope it was benign.

The three monitors had by now engaged and all systems were out of standby mode. Tails stared down at the terminal, as if trying to intimidate the machine. One end of the connection was inserted to the console port, the other he held in his hand, trying to parse what exactly he was about to do. And, to be quite honest, he had no clue.

_This can't end well._

With that thought, and before he could convince himself not to, he inserted the other end of the cable into his newly discovered interface. It felt...not painful, maybe slightly unpleasant. Mainly, it just felt _odd_. Almost like something ethereal and intangible was spreading out from his body and through the wire, as illogical as that sounded. If asked, there was no way he could put the exact feeling into words, he was sure of that much.

Slowly, and then faster, data began to collect on the screen, which Tails immediately took to picking apart with vigor. The fact that the connection actually _did _something and contained what looked to be a multitude of information only accelerated the kit's anxiety. Had someone been storing data inside his own body? Why? How? _When_?

But as he poured through the lines upon lines upon lines of code, his fears worsened as more and more was revealed. The first thing he noticed was that the terabytes of information were arranged methodically and in perfect working order, and although Tails had little idea of what any of it actually _did_, the complexity and size of whatever he was looking at was plain to see. But more than that was the presence of some sort of program present in his arm drive, as he had taken to calling it, that was not compatible with his machine.

This was baffling to him. N.I.C.H.O.L.E. was a hugely advanced supercomputer, comparable to the most advanced hardware in the world. It had been designed by him in conjunction with the Acorn Kingdom's brightest scientists with unwavering government support, so what could he possibly have under his fur that this beast of a machine couldn't handle?

He got his answer in the most humble of places: a simple readme file, tucked away amongst the hoard of numbers and letters and characters. When opened, it quickly became apparent that it was in actuality more of a developer's log. Each document within the file described a different section of the program, and what Tails quickly learned was that this monolithic project he'd stumbled upon was not simply software, it was software designed to operate a machine.

The creeping fear was omnipresent as Tails steeled himself to more closely inspect the documents. As the content of the first log spread itself across the screen, the kitsune's knees nearly buckled at what it told him. Staring back at him, in gawdy ASCII art no less, was the infamous insignia of one Dr. Ivo Robotnik. This alone would have been enough to send the fox into a frenzy, but what the text itself detailed was unfathomably worse. It was a possibility he had forcefully pushed to the back of his mind the moment the data began to transfer, but now he was out of options. He had to face it, as the proof was laid bare in front of his eyes.

The infinitely complex calculations, the meticulous description of hardware, the forbidden section of code not even N.I.C.H.O.L.E.'s mighty processors could handle.

This data was designed and coded by Ivo Robotnik.

This data was created long before he'd met Sonic

This data was not _inside _of him.

This data _was _him.

His hands were a blur flashing across the keys as he dissected every little bit of information he could.

[PROJECT BRUTUS]

[SUBJECT: MILES PROWER]

[AUTOMATON CAPABLE OF REASONING, EMOTION, INDEPENDENT THOUGHT]

[OBJECTIVE: INGRATIATE ACORN LEADERSHIP; PHASE I ATTACK PREPARATIONS; NEUTRALIZE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG]

His heart, or whatever abominable facsimile he had in his chest, nearly skipped a beat when he read those words.

_Neutralize, _the thought drifted through his mind like leaves in the wind before a storm.

He didn't know what to do. This was too much at once, and he couldn't stand it. Tails had spent his entire life, what he could remember of it at least, believing himself to be a good kid, a specially gifted but otherwise normal mobian. It was all a lie, every inch of it. And here he stood now, in his own laboratory, where a simple fall had led him to lift the venier. His lone reason for existing, was, evidently, to murder his brother, and who knows who else, in order to tear down everything he'd ever known. All at the behest of a ruthless tyrant. He was but a machine - a computer in a shell. A killer.

The tomes within the digital labyrinth remained on the screen before him, and as he read more, they gave the android a horrifying insight into every aspect of his true being - a world that was living just beneath his synthetic skin, and yet one that he was blissfully unaware of until less than 20 minutes ago. There were countless subsystems, he found, known as "obfuscations" blended into his construction, engineering marvels designed solely to imitate normal mobian bodily functions. A simulated digestive tract, faux blood that was recycled over and over through a simplified version of a circulatory system, lungs made of highly advanced plastic that could draw and exhale breath.

None of these things were strictly necessary in any functional way that the fox could find, except for one lone yet crucial thing: trickery. None of these systems were on par with the complexity of an organic mobian's biology, but they didn't need to be. No, they just needed to be convincing enough not to draw any suspicion toward their body's mechanized nature. Not even from Tails himself.

He gathered information on his abilities, which were far more than he had anticipated. Built-in laser blasters, cybernetically enhanced vision, and bolstered strength were only a few of the multitude of enhancements he found hidden within his specifications, to be initiated once his damnable creator had deemed the time appropriate. Until then, they had remained suppressed. "Inhibitors" was the term.

He also noted that, through some sort of wireless connection of which he didn't particularly care to know the details, he was connected directly to Robotnik's mainline computer systems at all times, so that the doctor might send any necessary updates down the pipe to his unwitting minion. Normally, Tails would be ecstatic to have such a valuable in to Robotnik's notoriously stonewalled networking. At present, however, it barely registered. It's tough to get excited about espionage when your whole life is collapsing in real time.

And yet, with all this knowledge of seemingly every aspect of his situation quite literally spelled out in front of him, there were still so, so many questions, and so precious few answers.

Tails stared at the keyboard. He stared with such intensity he thought he might bore a hole through the console. But that was all he could bear to do right now. Anything else might send him reeling. He was shaking, teeth clenched. Each breath felt like a hollow victory.

_This isn't...it's...how could I not have known? How do you not know about something like this?_

But the evidence couldn't be denied. It was on the monitor and in his arm. His whole existence was metal and binary, his very reality and the nature of his agency called into doubt. How could life hold any meaning to him if…

If...

No.

No, now wasn't the time.

He could break down later, he _would _break down later, but now was the time for action. Though he didn't know the particulars, he knew this much: the protocols listed in his programming posed a direct threat to Sonic, the entire Acorn Kingdom, and possibly the whole of Mobius. Robotnik was intent on using Tails as a means to an end in his crusade. He wouldn't let it happen. He had a direct line to the source of the evil. He could use this to his advantage, painful though it might be. In this moment, Miles Prower had the upper hand.

So he choked back the tears, steadied his shaking hands as much as possible, and got to work.

* * *

"No, don't send any more men, just resume remote reconnaissance. I want 'round the clock surveillance on any updates."

The king paused to wait for a response from the other end of the telephone. The room was silent save for the tinny voice emanating from the receiver, the words garbled and unintelligible from Sir Charles' position.

"Right. Right. Of course I trust your judgement, General, but I don't want to put any troops in danger if there's no cause for it. We'll need defense on the home front in case of an attack. You have my authorization to use force if you have just cause, but stirring the pot just for the sake of it..."

Another pause. The squirrel king's brow was tense with worry or frustration, Charles couldn't quite tell which.

"Understood. I'll be awaiting the report from today's sweep. Thank you, General."

The click of the receiver and the sigh from King Maxamillian's lungs blended together in a brief symphony of exhaustion. He gave a knowing glance over to his most trusted advisor.

"What am I going to do with them, Charles? On high alert simply because they haven't had _reason_ to be on high alert," he remarked, directing his gaze skyward toward nothing in particular, "You'd think a man as decorated as him would be a little more inclined to look before he leaps."

"The general just seems to be taking a proactive approach, Max. You've known Penn for long enough, he wants to do what's best for the kingdom," Sir Charles responded, ever the diplomat.

"Of course, of course, and I don't begrudge him that," conceded the royal, "But he of all people should know that he's playing with fire by trying to goad Robotnik. Just because he's gone dark that doesn't mean he's vulnerable. In fact, I fear it indicates the exact opposite."

"I understand, truly. I'm worried about his silence, too. Hopefully these surveillance missions can get us some better intel to work with," the hedgehog encouraged.

Both men in the room knew exactly what atrocities the feared doctor was capable of, how much blood had been spilled by his hand in the past. The need for bolstered defences was paramount.

"Charles, how many chaos emeralds do we have in our possession at the moment?"

"Two on hand here in the palace. Our contact on Angel Island has one as well."

"And Ivo?"

"No confirmation that he's got any emeralds, but we can't be sure. We've known for a while now that he has similar energy concealment technology to ours."

The king brought his hands to his face, folding them neatly just below his nose, "So, four emeralds at large. That's...concerning. It would be prudent to confirm the location of as many as we can while we wait for our foe to make his next move."

"A job for the Freedom Fighters, you think?"

The shadow of a grin appeared behind the king's hands.

"Yes, Charles. I _do _think."


	4. Conceal and Mitigate

**Wow, set myself a deadline and immediately blew past it lol. But hey, chapter three is here! Also known as the one where Wedgely remembers that Antoine is a coyote and regrets his decision to make the general also a coyote.**

**Oh, and by the way, thanks so much to all who have left reviews. It really makes my day to read them and I just wanted to let you guys know they're greatly appreciated!  
**

**Onward!**

* * *

The sun had long completed its crawl over the eastern horizon by the time Tails decided he'd done enough. He backed away from the keyboard and directed his eyes in the direction of the infiniband cable still connected to his arm. He removed it rather unceremoniously, and tossed the loose end onto the floor; he couldn't be bothered with cable management at the moment.

He was trembling again. Actually, despite his best efforts, he was pretty sure he hadn't stopped in the first place. His back met the wall behind him, and he slowly sank down it until he was sitting on the floor. The only sounds permeating the space were those of the whirring of fans as they worked to cool the gargantuan equipment surrounding him.

But that's what he was as well, right? Equipment? A machine, comprised of metal and circuitry, masquerading in false flesh? He didn't want to dwell on that - not now. Not _ever_, really, but he knew that time would have to come at some point. He decided to distract himself for the moment, lest he dive too deep down that rabbit hole unprepared.

_Okay, Miles, think. Take stock._

In the past four or so hours, he'd disabled, rerouted, and hotfixed a plethora of code pertaining to his internal systems, all of them in relation to his physical body or communications systems. As he'd previously suspected, whatever was going on in his head that comprised his "mind" was far, far too advanced for N.I.C.O.L.E.'s capabilities. The AI that powered him, made him who he _was_, was almost definitely based around some breakthrough software in the realm of quantum computing. Tails didn't have a fraction of the equipment or resources on hand to even begin dealing with it, and frankly, the idea of poking around in his own consciousness and giving himself what was essentially a cyber lobotomy scared the absolute hell out of him.

So, instead, he'd stuck to what he could actually change.

The first thing he did was immediately sever the download link from Robotnik's system, effectively cutting out any updates the doctor might send through the channel. He also installed a quick bit of backdoor code to prevent any error messages from firing back to Robotnik, so that the human would be none the wiser. The doctor might send information to Tails, but the data would never make it to its destination, and would instead be discarded and lost to the ether. If Robotnik actually decided to look at the code, it would be plainly obvious where Tails had hastily patched together the fix, but if all went well, he wouldn't have any reason to look that closely. At the very least, it would buy the fox some time.

Secondly, he'd removed the majority of inhibitors placed on his abilities. He was hesitant to do it, fearful of losing who he was, becoming less a person and more a machine, but after a long internal argument, he decided that leaving himself a disadvantage wouldn't help anyone. Robotnik would remove the inhibitors in the event he gained control anyway; Tails might as well get some use out of his newfound power in case things truly got out of hand.

Removing these metaphorical weights had the effect of markedly increasing his strength, plus boosts to his already impressive speed and agility. He gained control of laser blasters hidden under the tops of his wrists, as well as a HUD that he could will into his vision to scan his surroundings. He hadn't actually tested any of this, except for momentarily displaying a readout of basic atmospheric conditions in his vision to confirm that his changes had taken effect, as despite his earlier resolve his concerns about his personhood still held him back from experimenting any further.

And finally, he'd modified his internal tracker, something that Robotnik had doubtlessly been using to keep tabs on his movements since day one - a worrying thought. Tails couldn't simply turn this off, the doctor would notice immediately that his project had gone dark if he shut the entire thing down. Instead, the trick was a program that would allow the android to fake out the positioner, deploying a decoy signature that would display his marker as being elsewhere whenever he needed to be discreet. It wouldn't hold up for long, obviously, but it was better than nothing, and it was something Tails could work with.

He had a starting point.

_Okay...okay, I think that's everything._

The exhausted kit hung his head between his knees and sat there motionless for he didn't know how long. Slowly, his chest began to hitch, and then the sobs came. The kitsune sat with his namesakes wrapped around him, and cried until his eyes ran dry. He supposed crying was yet another cleverly designed obfuscation, specifically crafted to create an illusion of sadness and pain to fool others. But it felt pretty damn real to him.

In some faraway, fantastical corner of his mind, the boy was desperately hoping he could lay there indefinitely, so that everything beyond the walls of his workshop might magically right itself, and he could walk out of the building into the bright sunshine of a day undisturbed by Robotnik or war or existential pain. He'd almost made himself believe it could happen, but just as the sobs began to peter out, he heard the unmistakable sound of the workshop's front door opening. His brother's voice echoed off of the cavernous main floor.

"Yo, Tails? You in here, man? Got some news!"

Tails was off the floor instantly, rushing to shut down the computer before Sonic could work out where he was. He doubted the hedgehog could understand at a glance what was displayed on the monitors, but he was decidedly not in the mood to take any chances. The systems darkened quickly as a result of their owner's rather inelegant method of cutting the power supply, plunging the monitor into blackness.

"Hey, bud. That you?" the voice called.

"Yeah, Sonic. I'm in the server room." Tails responded, forcing his voice to remain stable. It was more difficult than he'd expected.

He quickly wiped his eyes the best he could manage and took a moment to compose himself, trying his absolute hardest to not look like he'd just spent the last five hours in abject panic. Sonic didn't need to know about this. Not now, not ever. How could he be expected to remain friends with Tails once he knew the truth, that he was nothing but a machine? Who would want a computer in a metal husk for their brother?

Once he was satisfied that he looked presentable enough for the dim lighting that still graced the walls outside the server room, he stepped slowly out into the hallway, only to be met by Sonic just as he turned the corner.

"Hey, morning, bud! Didn't figure you'd be up and goin' so early after how late we went last night."

"Ah, well I woke up about an hour ago; couldn't get back to sleep. Figured I'd get some early morning cable organizing done." Tails was a fantastic liar. Normally he hated that about himself, but the loathsome trait was serving him quite well in this instance, so he decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Well, looks like you'll have to put that on hold for now. Just got a message from Sal: emergency Freedom Fighters meeting. She wants us there ASAP."

Tails tried his best to hide the concern on his face, and instead covered it with bemusement.

"Oh, uh I...did she say why?"

"Nothing specific, but apparently King Max has something in mind. Wants to meet with us first."

_Oooooh...this is bad._

"ASAP, huh?" Tails responded, stalling for time, though he wasn't sure how much good it would do him, "Well, we'll probably have to take the Tornado I. I've still got some of the guts ripped out of the X-1."

False. The only thing taken out of the X-1 was its targeting computer. The plane was still perfectly capable of flight. But it would be best for everyone involved if Tails didn't take to the sky right this minute. The Tornado I would have to do.

"Okay, no prob. She ready to fly?"

"She'll need some fuel," Tails blurted, a little more quickly than he would have liked, though if Sonic took any notice of his friend's odd tone, he didn't show it. "She's been sitting in the hangar for a while, and I drained all the fuel out before storage to prevent corrosion in the engine."

That, at the very least, wasn't a lie. Thankfully, Sonic didn't seem at all suspicious, and simply flashed a thumbs up. Maybe Tails wasn't as acting as conspicuous as he felt?

"Gotcha. How long should that take? I should probably let Sal know our ETA," the hedgehog responded.

"I'd say...give me about an hour, then we should be able to head out. I'll go hook up the fuel line right now."

"Sure thing, bud," Sonic assured, turning around to head back down the hallway, "I'll be over at the house; just lemme know when we're all set!"

Tails would have loved to use the hour it took to connect the fuel line to the plane, pump the fuel into the fuel cells, start the engine and test the propellor for any malfunctions, and give the wings a once-over, to prepare himself mentally for any issues that might arise from a cybernetic sleeper weapon such as himself sharing a room with the entirety of the Freedom Fighters plus the King of Acorn. However, to his increasing dismay, he found that he didn't have a heap of viable options.

If he went AWOL and ran off without any kind of notification, well, it would probably be the most suspicious thing he could do. The rest of the Fighters would scour under every rock on Mobius to find him, which would severely hamper the Kingdom's ability to keep an eye on Robotnik. For all he knew, that might have been part of one of the doctor's contingencies.

Revealing to his teammates any part of his actual reasoning for wanting to defect was also out of the question. He knew what that would mean. If Tails let anyone know about his true nature and had his cover blown, he would immediately be rendered useless to Robotnik, and Tails knew quite well that the good doctor held very little regard for useless equipment. And that's not even touching the distrust that would certainly begin to brew within certain factions of the government should the information become more widely known.

So, by the time he began the walk over to the house to notify Sonic that they were ready to hit the skies, he'd resigned himself to trusting his own preventative measures and keeping as close an eye on any Robotnik developments as possible. His foe didn't show his hand often, but with his current link to Robotnik's systems and the bonus of newfound enhancements, the fox figured he had as good a shot at getting out in front of this situation as he was ever going to get. Plus, if the worst eventually did come to pass, he knew of at least one, sure-fire out - one that he didn't find at all pleasant to dwell on.

* * *

The biplane touched down within half an hour at Mobotropolis International Airport, and after parking the Tornado in the reserved hangar, Sonic and Tails were met by a small entourage of military personnel. At this point it was mostly a formality, but Tails enjoyed the extra layer of security all the same. Sonic often joked that it made him feel like he was an honored dignitary arriving from lands afar, and to that end he made a show of blowing kisses and bowing to an invisible crowd upon exiting the plane, which of course earned him a light but firm elbowing from Tails and a stern glare from General Allistair Penn.

The coyote met them on the tarmac, extending a professional, if cold, handshake to each of them. Behind the group, a small gathering of airport workers made their way toward the plane.

"Gentlemen," he greeted with a curt nod, "The king's been informed of your arrival. I trust you can make it to the palace from here?"

The general's steely gaze was as intimidating as ever. Tails swore it got harder to look the man in the eye every time they met.

"Yes sir, thank you," Tails responded respectfully before Sonic had time to open his mouth.

"Oh, and Prower, all the necessary arrangements for the exercise at Green Hill have been approved," Penn added, "You'll receive a formal address in the mail soon. Arrive with your aircraft an hour before the scheduled start time...is that it?"

The general gestured toward the Tornado I, and Tails thought his face betrayed a sense of apathy toward the machine.

"No, the one I'll be testing is the X-1, a fighter model. It's undergoing repairs at the moment," Tails responded, measuring his words so they didn't sound too hostile. He was already under enough stress, and he didn't take very kindly to others disrespecting his work.

"Sure," the coyote remarked somewhat dismissively, "At any rate, I'll see you in a few days. And be prompt. G.U.N. doesn't tolerate tardiness."

"Right. Of course, General."

With another stilted nod, Penn turned and accompanied two of his soldiers out of the hangar, which Sonic and Tails took as their cue to do the same.

"He always that cheerful?" Sonic quipped as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Yeah, a real people person," Tails responded, this time allowing a little more of the venom to drip into his words.

The two hastily made their way out into the mid-morning sun and toward downtown at a steady clip, mindful of any passing pedestrians, of which there were many, and careful to avoid being slowed down by any potential autograph seekers. While Mobotropolis was the capital of the Acorn Kingdom, and one of the largest cities on Mobius, the two had spent so much time in the sprawling bastion of civilization that they knew every street, alley, and rooftop like an old friend. It took them virtually no time before they were standing at the front gate of Acorn Palace, and were given a warm welcome by the palace guards with a formal salute.

"General Penn could learn a thing or two from you guys!" Sonic remarked with a wink as he strolled past and returned the gesture. Duty bound as they were to demonstrate restraint, Tails was certain he saw some of the guards fighting back amused smirks.

Finally, the duo entered through a pair of large, oak wooden doors which lead to the office of King Maximilian Acorn. As Tails expected, they were the last to arrive aside from King Max himself. This was common, as Sonic and Tails were the only two members of the core team to live outside of Mobotropolis, but given the duo's speed and punctuality, it had never been an issue.

"Hey hey! Long time no see!" Sonic greeted, and addressed everyone present with an enthusiastic wave.

"Hey Sugahog," came a velvety voice that could only belong to one Bunnie Rabbot, "Glad you two could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it!" Sonic replied, "I mean hey, if King Max himself wants to meet with all of us, it should be pretty important. Where is he anyway?"

"Oh, you know dad; probably cutting through some more red tape," this time it was Sally who responded, "Seems like he's had his hands tied all day. He should be in soon."

As Sonic crossed the room to catch up with Sally and Bunny, Tails felt a gentle nudge to his arm, and turned to see the friendly face to his right.

"How's it going, kid!" Rotor exclaimed with a grin, obviously happy to see his only other mechanic buddy. Tails wished he could share in the jubilance and gleefully talk shop with his friend as usual, but the best he could do under the circumstances was put on a smile and power through.

"Oh, pretty good, Rotor," he offered with a grin, "Doing some maintenance on the X-1, so we rode in on the older model."

"Saw that. I know the jet is way better for what we do, but there are times I can't help but miss that old biplane. Somethin' real authentic about the sound of a propeller cuttin' through the clouds. It's the kinda sound I grew up on."

"Maybe I can take you for a flight sometime and we can give the engine a tune-up. I really should get her out of the hangar more often," the sentiment was genuine, but the casual inflection was most certainly not.

"Sounds like a plan, boss."

As they chatted, Tails' eyes idly scanned the room, and eventually landed on the stoic figure of Antoine D'Coolette parked in a chair next to the wall, arms crossed and eyes skyward. The coyote was always lost in thought before a mission, with a solemn expression that betrayed a weighty sense of gravitas whether or not the situation actually called for it. It was a habit that his teammates often teased him about, but Sally had on more than one occasion commented on her respect for his determination, misplaced though it sometimes may be. For this particular assignment, however, Tails had a feeling that Antoine's demeanor was hauntingly appropriate.

The fox turned his head, preparing to continue his pleasantries with Rotor, when he was interrupted. The oak doors opened once again, this time giving way for His Highness King Maximilian Acorn, walking at a slightly more brisk pace than one would consider normal.

"Morning, all," the king declared tiredly yet warmly, flashing a smile in that regal way that looked at once heartfelt but also strained. The expression of Sir Charles the Hedgehog as he followed in after was not dissimilar.

"Uncle Chuck!" Sonic exclaimed, gleefully bounding over to grab the older man in a firm hug.

"Sonic! Ah, good to see you again, old boy. You as well Tails!"

Tails offered a grin and nod to acknowledge his surrogate uncle, but couldn't bring himself to muster much more than that. He was among friends wearing smiles all around - a situation most would find comforting, reassuring. But Tails could only taste the bitter sting of uncertainty, as every passing second confined within these walls, in the company of the people he loved most in the world, only amplified the very real danger of which they were all blissfully unaware.

King Max sat down behind his desk, an earthen, sturdy thing, and motioned for all in the room to come to order. Tails found a seat on a nearby sofa next to Rotor; he could see Sonic now reclining in a chair next to his uncle, while the girls opted to stand. Antoine, of course, remained the picture of solemnity in his seat.

"General Penn not coming?", Sonic questioned as everyone got settled.

"The general has quite a lot on his plate at the moment, for reasons that will soon become clear. I've briefed him on the main points of this meeting and I'll be filling him in on the specifics later," Maximilian responded, "In any case…"

The king cleared his throat, and began: "Thank you all so much for coming here on such short notice. And I mean that, genuinely. Not every leader can be as blessed as I am to have a team as dependable as this, which is why I'm going to need each one of you to be alert and on your guard in the coming days.

"We have reason to believe that Dr. Robotnik is mounting his forces. His radio silence over the past months has been more than a little concerning, but we've had little in the way of a tangible threat. However, our various recon scouts have recently shown a higher than average rate of mobility within Robotnik-controlled territories both inside and outside the Acorn Kingdom, which we can only assume is indicative of some less than savory dealings at large."

The king could practically see the questions swimming around inside each team member's brain, but they all knew very well that this information was far too important to interrupt. He was silently grateful for that, for he was in short supply of answers.

"This comes in the wake of some other reports claiming that there has been...troubling activity in zones where Robotnik has previously been known to operate. I hesitate to elaborate, since these reports aren't fully confirmed at the moment, and we're not positive they relate directly to Ivo, but...they're credible enough to take seriously. The situation is looking tenuous. To that end, I have an assignment that I'd like you to see to.

"Currently, the Kingdom has only two chaos emeralds in its possession here in the palace. A third is being kept with the Master Emerald on Angel Island, which means that four are up for grabs, so to speak. I've been speaking with Charles and other advisors and we agree that in light of recent events, it would be irresponsible to leave them unguarded.

"So we're going on a chaos hunt," Bunnie stated, a small grin adorning one side of her face.

The king smiled as well, thankful for even the smallest bit of levity, "Yes, you're going on a chaos hunt."

"Not under normal circumstances, however," he continued, "We're uncomfortable having all seven emeralds stored within the palace. It would paint an enormous target on our back, and all of Mobotropolis by extension. What you'll need to do is essentially confirm each emerald's location and ensure that it's in a secure place, so that we can apply energy concealment technology, and log each location. We'll be leaving them in the same general area we find them; our main objective is to not leave them unprotected."

"So Robotnik's probably in pursuit of them too, right?" It was the first thing Tails had said to the room since they'd arrived, "We'll need to be quick about it."

"I would have to imagine so, yes," the king responded, "which is why I'm encouraging you all to stay vigilant. We still don't know the full scope of what he's planning, but at the very least he'll want to keep the emeralds out of our reach even if he's not using them."

Tails nodded. This would be quite the logistical challenge, even disregarding his personal extenuating circumstances, depending on how far the emeralds had dispersed this time around. Tracking them down in the past had been a gradual thing, bagging and tagging them whenever the opportunity presented itself; they'd never been under this severe of a time crunch. He was suddenly all the more grateful he'd modified his GPS locator.

He began to weigh their deployment options. They had several planes at their disposal to reach the further emeralds, and four people who could fly them, but only Tails and Antoine had extensive experience in combat situations. Sonic and Rotor were competent pilots, but Rotor's real talents were with a wrench in-hand, and Sonic had never had much practice with evasive maneuvers. Of course, it's possible they would get lucky and some emeralds would be close enough to reach on foot, or that Robotnik simply had other things on his mind and they would be able to track their quarry unmolested, but that wasn't something he should count on with any measure of certainty. He would bring it up to Sally once they'd triangulated the locations.

"Well, our first move should be getting to Angel Island," Sally declared, "I'd like to convene with Knuckles as well as temporarily relocate the emerald he has in his possession. The island seems as obvious a place to hide a Chaos Emerald as the palace."

"Pfft. Good luck tryin'a get that fella to give up an emerald," Bunnie replied, "He's even more hard-headed than Sugarhog over here, no offense."

"None taken," Sonic replied with a chuckle, "I was actually just about to suggest we check up on ol' Knucklehead myself. Last time I talked to him, he mentioned something he'd been working on that'll probably help us out big time."

The king raised a curious eyebrow; Knuckles hadn't informed him of any new developments, "What do you mean?"

"He said he was working on a "deeper link" with the Master Emerald. Not 100% sure what he meant by that, but he was pretty sure he could use it to...man I can't remember all the words he used, but bottom line: once he creates that link, he'll be able to sense the energy of each individual chaos emerald by connecting with the Master Emerald. Hopefully he's got it down pat by now; when we talked it sounded like he was pretty close."

Tails felt a small wash of relief at hearing the news. It was a welcome sensation, one he hadn't been feeling much of in the last twenty-four hours. He had tech onboard the X-1 that could track chaos energy signatures, but its range was limited, and required a lot of educated guesswork to utilize. If Knuckles could indeed give them a ballpark estimate on where each emerald might be hiding, they would have a major leg up on Robotnik.

He could only hope to come out on the other side of this mission with as little conflict as possible. Then he could begin work on how exactly to track down the greater answers he so desperately needed, the most glaring of which being how to sever his cybernetic ties to the doctor and throw himself clear of any remote interference. If this mission went south, or if the underlying turmoil ran as deep as the king seemed to fear, he would be fighting two battles at once, with no clear directive on either.

"Alright then," Sally stated rather matter-of-factly, jolting Tails out of his thoughts, "I think Sonic, Tails and I should make a quick trip to Angel Island to discuss everything with Knuckles. Once we're done there, we can reconvene at Tails' workshop and lay out our plan depending on what information the three of us are able to gather. Sound good?"

All present nodded in affirmation. With that settled, everyone began rising to break from the meeting, but were at once interrupted by the sound of Antoine's voice.

"Your Majesty," he began, his thick northern accent coating his words, "Ze threats of which you 'ave been speaking. How seriously shall we take zem?"

There was a pause. Not extraordinarily long, but long enough for the king's eyes to flit up to the map on the wall, and find the spot where the town of Riverwald once was.

His tone was heavy when he responded.

"Take no chances."

* * *

The sky was a brilliant azure, a perfect day to relax lazily against a nice rock next to a sleepy stream, so that's exactly what the red echidna decided he would spend his day doing. The Master Emerald had been quiet enough lately, which was unusual, but he took it as a good sign. It indicated stability and balance, two qualities his life had been in short supply of.

The life of a guardian was an understated one, if you screwed up it was catastrophic, but if you did everything right, people wondered what you even did at all. Thankless work, but crucial. Knuckles paid no mind to what others thought, of course; there was little communication with the outside world on the floating island, which he was quite happy with, thank you very much. In fact, his main contact with civilization at large was his…

_Ping!_

...communicator.

The guardian pulled his wrist in front of his face with an exaggerated motion to see what was so important as to interrupt his peace, and was greeted by the sight of Sonic the Hedgehog's smiling photo accompanied by a simple line of text:

_Hope u cleaned house. we're on r way._

Knuckles let out a long suffering sigh, and grumbled every step of the way back to the temple.


	5. Thin Ice

**Wow! Sorry this one took so long, but it was a real beast to get everything in order. So yeah, chapter four, in which a lot happens! Once again, thank you to everyone who has left reviews, I appreciate it so much and hopefully the new installment doesn't disappoint.**

* * *

"_Now no one after lighting a lamp  
covers it over with a container,  
or puts it under a bed;  
but he puts it on a lampstand,  
so that those who come in may see the light._

_For nothing is hidden  
that will not become evident,  
nor anything secret  
that will not be known and come to light."_

**o-o-o-o**

"Sonic, if you insist on riding on the wing like a maniac, at least have the decency to sit still!" the princess shouted over the rush of wind and the hum of the plane's propeller.

"Don't blow your top Sal!" Sonic retorted, "Just keepin' the blood flowing; don't wanna get stir-crazy! Besides, this bird's only got two seats, so unless you'd like to hop up here, I got nowhere else to be!"

It was true, Sonic had been as fidgety as usual ever since the three took off en route to Angel Island. He'd spent the past ten minutes shifting from one side of the plane to the other, forcing Tails to make minute adjustments to their trajectory with each shift in weight. The pilot might have been annoyed if he hadn't been so used to it.

Tails let the two bicker amongst themselves; the reluctant android was currently more preoccupied with the semi-transparent display that currently framed his vision, visible to him and him alone. It showed him every minute detail of his surrounding environment. The exact amount of centimeters, to the thousandths decimal, between him and the waves below; the atmospheric pressure, cloud cover, and precise percentage of moisture in the skies above; and the biosignatures of any and all surrounding fauna, including his two passengers.

Except, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't really _showing _it to him, he reasoned, it was more accurately a display of things he himself was calculating in real time, nearly subconsciously. His brain was, in the most literal sense possible, a supercomputer, and now, without inhibition, it could finally operate as such. And what Tails had learned since delving into his digital nature was that he was far, far more advanced than any other software he had ever encountered.

This was all just passive calculation, things he could do instantly and without any real concentration. If he were to bear down and focus, he felt certain he could fly his plane through the eye of a needle. It was an overwhelming feeling of power. He should feel invincible; anyone else would. But the implications were heinous; he was encased in fear, and no small amount of shame. Taking even the slightest bit of joy from his abilities was impossible, because the kitsune knew very well where - who - they came from.

So he was thankful when the small, yet growing, shape floating on the horizon gave him something else to focus on. He closed his internal HUD and took in the surreal visage of Angel Island, hanging stalwart in the sky as if that was just where an island was supposed to be. Tails scanned the southern section of the landmass, searching for the best place to make his landing. The X-1 had a VTOL mode that made this kind of thing a lot easier, but with the biplane he'd have to manage the old fashioned way. It was really no problem, he knew the old girl could handle a grass landing.

"Prepare for approach!"

He found a nice spot next to a large pond with plenty of clearance, not far at all from the main temple, and radioed into Knuckles where they'd be touching down. In practically no time the echidna was standing nearby, arms crossed and looking more than a slight bit irritated, when the group made their descent. As revenge for Sonic's antics on the way over, Tails only jerked the controls _a little _during the landing.

"Well, at least you didn't bring the full cavalry," Knuckles commented as the trio exited the vehicle.

"Nice to see you too, Knux," Sonic replied with a snide grin, "That's what you call hospitality around here?"

"Well I don't exactly have any cookies and punch laid out; not like I was expecting company. To what do I owe the pleasure, by the way?" the guardian questioned.

Sally did a double-take. "What? Sonic didn't tell you?" she asked disbelievingly. She shot a stern glance over at the aforementioned hedgehog, "I thought you said you notified him!"

For his part, Sonic could only muster a sheepish smile and a shrug.

Knuckles angled his communicator toward the princess and Tails, displaying Sonic's rather middle-school caliber message. "Mr. Blue Streak over here ain't exactly a novelist."

Tails slapped a palm to his face as Sally cast her eyes skyward and let out a groan, "Un. Be. Lievable. Let's just...alright I...suppose we'll brief you here."

"Come on back to the temple then, I guess," Knuckles sighed as he turned around, "At least there I can get back to my rock."

The trio exchanged a few confused glances, but then dutifully followed their host into the forest.

The walk back to the weathered shrine perched near the edge of the island was short enough, as promised. Knuckles strolled his way over to a sturdy-looking rock by a nearby stream, and unceremoniously plopped down next to it, resting against the stone as naturally as if it were a well-worn recliner.

"Proceed," he droned, with a wave of his hand indicating for his visitors to find a seat.

Sally settled down on the grass as Tails perched himself on top of another rock closeby. Sonic, already in an impatient mood and unsatisfied by the echidna's disposition, elected to stand.

"Y'know, you should be more gracious, Knucklehead," Sonic chided, this time a little less jovially, "You're lucky we come by as often as we do, with you all the way up here."

"Well I guess bad luck _is _technically luck."

"Alright, wisegu-"

"Sonic," Tails chided, shooting a rather obvious "shush" look at the hedgehog.

"I think we're getting off-track," Sally interrupted, "Knuckles, we're sorry for the intrusion. Truly," she gave another sidelong glare to her hedgehog teammate, who responded only by folding his arms across his chest, "But circumstances are dire at the moment, and the kingdom needs your help."

* * *

General Penn stood atop a hill, surrounded on all sides by trees which hung a dreary canvas over his squad. Though it was just past midday, the leaves did a swell job of blocking out any light that might be useful for his team's current operation, and the thick underbrush wasn't doing their mobility any favors either.

It was going to be one of _those _missions.

Even his men at his side provided him less comfort than normal. Any military activity in or around Robotnik-controlled territory was, by necessity, predicated on stealth and flexibility, meaning Penn was joined today only by a small skeleton crew of four soldiers plus himself. He felt more like a special forces captain than a general, and if he were honest with himself, he didn't particularly mind. Charles in particular often gave him lighthearted grief for the amount of hands-on work he performed for someone of his status, but he couldn't help it; he was a man of action. He always had been.

"Howard," the coyote's voice was low, but sharp, "Countdown to engage?"

His second-in-command was beside him in an instant, "Should be any minute now. Previous patrols indicate about a two minute margin of error."

"Airborne, I assume?"

"Has to be. Too much coverage for anything else, and we'd notice if there was any sort of path cleared for ground transport."

Penn nodded, "Very well. Nothing for it, then, but to wait."

And with the waiting came reflection.

General Penn knew suffering. He'd experienced plenty of it himself and seen it tenfold in others on the battlefield; it was nothing unexpected. But there was something about a mother's tears.

His squad had arrived at the house the night before the excursion, a small shotgun shack on the outskirts of a rural village. It had running water, but not a whole lot else. A small black and white television sat in the corner of one of the home's three rooms, and a decrepit air conditioning unit that looked seconds away from falling out of the window did its best to keep the growing summer heat at bay. Its owner had graciously allowed them to stay the night, and the general had no intention of making himself or his men any more of an imposition than they already were.

He'd felt the distinct pain of a broken parent as the young cat sobbed and bared her soul to him. Told him how she'd wanted more than anything to move away from this godforsaken place but the money just wasn't there. Told him how she hadn't slept or eaten in days. Told him everything she could about her little boy, Ezra, and how she just wanted him back.

He'd been hearing far too much of that kind of thing these past few weeks.

"_He's getting closer, isn't he?"_ she'd asked him, "_The Doctor, I mean. They say he's trying to expand his territory."_

"_We're keeping close watch on Robotnik, miss. You needn't worry about that."_

She hadn't responded, but he'd needed only to look in her eyes for a second to know that she hadn't believed him. He wasn't sure if he'd believed _himself_.

Snapping back to the task at hand, Penn was suddenly aware of a soft but steady vibration that slowly rose in volume, breaking him from his thoughts, and letting him know the time for action was upon his men. He readied his sidearm in one hand, and used the other to motion his squad into position.

Two soldiers positioned themselves approximately twenty yards away in either direction along the route; the remaining two took aim with their rifles and found their target: a lone hovering SWATbot. The machine deftly and unnaturally ghosted just above the treeline, making its way like clockwork along the patrol route that the recon crew had mapped. With a wave of the general's hand, two reports rang out simultaneously, and the robot took a swift dive into the treeline. The sound of a crash was unmistakable. Success.

He allowed a subdued smirk to spread across his features, and again motioned to his men, this time ordering them to follow him in the direction of their quarry. They hurried through the walls of green with practiced precision, and it wasn't long before they came upon the smoking remains of the machine, cradled gently by the thickets. Penn produced his trusty pocket knife and along with the two other men got to work dislodging the robot.

"Damn good shots, gentlemen," the general commended while studying the bullet holes, "Right in the vitals, and looks like no damage to the memory core."

"We're looking good on time as well, sir," one of the men, a wolf named Stanton, noted as they cleared the last of the thorns away from the husk, "The next SWATbot isn't due in the area for another twenty minutes."

"We'll be long gone by then," the general confirmed, "Stanton, you help me get back with this thing. Davies, you take point." They nodded in affirmation.

"Target down," Davies spoke into his radio, "Reconvene at our original coordinates."

Between the two trained soldiers carrying it, the weight of the SWATbot didn't slow the group's movement by any real measure, though the general would be lying if he said he hadn't wished for some luggage handles on the thing. Once they'd rejoined the others, Howard produced his own knife, along with a portable data processor and cable. With great care, he pried open the underside of the drone, and quickly located the memory core.

The information was obviously encrypted, but the boys back at the lab had been working many sleepless nights on that, and within a minute the security had been broken and the intel had been automatically transferred to the processor. With a quick confirmation that everything had gone through, the raccoon flashed the "okay" signal, and attached a small disc to what was left of the robot.

"Great work, men," said Penn, his eyes still scanning the trees surrounding them. All looked normal. "Let's clear out and head back. Remember: leave no trace."

The team kept ever vigilant the entire time they remained in the forest, only easing up the slightest bit once they reached the treeline about half a mile away from the scene of the operation. As the crew worked to remove their armored truck from hiding and begin their journey back, Howard was already checking the data they'd collected. Penn situated himself on the passenger side and, hoping to see the excitement of a successful mission on his comrad's face, spun around in his seat, only to be met with a glazed look of horror from his second-in-command.

"Howard, what is it?" the coyote questioned, unable to keep the concern from lacing his voice.

"Sir...the memory file, dated a week ago, corresponding to the report we received..." Howard was doing his best to keep his voice dry and clinical. It was only partially working.

Penn felt his spine turn to ice. He prayed that he was misreading the situation-that he had simply misheard his squad member. Anything to convince himself that their worst fears, the ones spoken of in hushed tones in the war room, hadn't been confirmed. He knew that was naive.

"You...you'll need to show this to the king," Howard continued, but couldn't bring himself to say any more than that. He quickly closed the laptop.

No man in the vehicle had ever heard a silence quite so loud.

"Davies," the general's voice was fire, and he had murder in his eyes, "Light the motherfucker."

Davies flipped the switch on his belt as instructed, and a distant explosion echoed through the trees. One SWATbot gone - a specter of what was to come.

* * *

"I hope you realize I'm doing this under protest, Princess," Knuckles stressed as Sally tucked the yellow emerald into her pack.

"Yeah Knux, we heard you the first three times," Sonic responded curtly from his seat on the temple stairs, his previous cheer now notably absent from his tone.

Knuckles spun around to meet his gaze, "Apparently you didn't, because you're still insistent on removing an emerald from the one person whose specific job it is to protect it."

"And that's what you'll be doing," said Sally calmly, before Sonic could respond, "Robotnik knows exactly where Angel Island is and what it's for. If he comes after the emeralds, this will be the first place he looks."

She finished buckling the compartment closed on the pack and looked up to Knuckles, sincerity in her eyes, "It's better to have it elsewhere for the time being, and once we determine a location for it and find the remaining emeralds, you'll be the first person we contact with their coordinates. I swear on my honor."

Knuckles eyed his three visitors with something less than anger but more than annoyance, before finally settling on the kitsune to his left.

"How 'bout you? You've been pretty quiet."

Tails tilted his head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You're the genius in this outfit, what do you think about the whole thing?"

"Not much else to say," Tails responded with a shrug, "The kingdom needs help, and we need to keep people safe. This really is the best option right now." The fox took a moment to ponder his next words. "Robotnik...I don't think he's playing games here, Knuckles."

The echidna paused, sighed, and threw his hands up in mock surrender, "Fine, fine. If it's that important to you, take it. But you'd better make good on that promise, Princess."

"I intend to," Sally responded confidently, "_You _are the emeralds' guardian, Knuckles. The kingdom hasn't forgotten that."

Knuckles offered only a nod, but it was a steady one. His countenance seemed to ease slightly.

"One other thing," Sonic said, rising from the steps. His mood appeared less standoffish this time around as well. "Last time I talked to you, you mentioned something about a new connection to the Master Emerald?"

Knuckles looked surprised for about half a second, and a bemused grin spread across his face, "What do ya know? You _do _listen once in a while!"

Sally tried, she really did, but it was no use. She covered her mouth as her chest heaved in laughter. Sonic merely waved off the echidna.

"Funny." He sounded less than impressed. "But seriously, you said you could connect with the emeralds mentally, right? Can that help us find them at all?"

Knuckles nodded once again; he'd obviously had given it some thought as well, "Yeah, it probably won't be a perfect science, but I bet I could get you a rough location."

"How rough?"

"Maybe…'bout a mile within each one?"

"That would help us a lot," Tails chimed in, "Sounds way better than what we've been working with, at least."

"Alright, well, step on up," Knuckles instructed as he began to ascend the mammoth stairset; the three Freedom Fighters followed closely behind. His demeanor was noticeably lighter and more congenial when dealing with matters related to either chaos energy or physical training, which was a welcome change of pace. Still not exactly friendly, mind, but less immediately threatening.

The mighty Master Emerald was waiting for the group at the top of the stairs, emanating a visible aura, proclaiming to anyone who laid eyes upon it that its verdant green held a power beyond understanding or time. Tails had long pondered the exact nature of the emeralds' power, and chaos energy itself. He'd conducted numerous experiments, all with Knuckles' blessing of course, and developed countless hypotheses and theories, his best guess being that it was a form of radiation augmented by some yet-undiscovered force. He'd spent many a sleepless night delving into dark matter, antimatter, multiverse theory, and even the works of old alchemists. Eventually he'd simply decided to let sleeping dogs lie. Whatever mysteries chaos energy held, he was content with knowing that it would most likely be forever outside of his or anyone else's comprehension.

"So, uh, outta curiosity, how's this work?" Sonic questioned as the group reached the top step.

"Well, there are different types of connections to the emerald," Knuckles explained, "I connect with it to guide the direction of the island, for example, and to detect disturbances in the chaos field.

"But learning new forms of interaction takes meditation and practice. This new link uses the Master Emerald as a sort of...hub to connect my consciousness to the other emeralds. Princess, you got a map?"

"Oh, right." Sally reached into her pack and produced a folded world atlas, including the Acorn Kingdom and all surrounding nations and territories. The kingdom's reach was wide, and there was a good chance most if not all of the emeralds would be located within its borders, but the planet of Mobius itself was grand and diverse as well. Their prizes could potentially lie waiting in any number of foreign lands, and if that were the case, they could only hope they were within nations in good standing with the Acorn Kingdom.

_Politics: even more nebulous than chaos energy, _Tails thought idly.

Knuckles gave the atlas a once-over, most likely for frame of reference, and approached the emerald, laying both his palms flat on its side. The echidna closed his eyes, and a low humming sound emerged from the gem like an electrical current flowing from a transformer. The green aura extended out to Knuckles, but it didn't seem to cause the echidna any undue stress.

"Got anything?" Sonic asked, his tone now entirely curious.

"Think so," Knuckles responded, "Yeah...yeah I'm picking 'em up…"

The three observed in reverent silence, enraptured as the hum began to gently pulse a steady frequency. None of them spoke, wary of the possibility of disturbing the guardian's concentration, so instead they waited, with only the sounds of the emerald and nature filling the air.

The pulsing slowly increased in frequency, then decreased, then increased again. Knuckles' expression didn't betray any sort of concern, so Tails assumed this was standard operating procedure. That was, until Knuckles' eyes opened rather quickly, and the hum rose into a booming whoosh. Then, as quickly as it happened, the sound was gone and the tranquility of the island was all that remained.

"Woah!" Sonic exclaimed, "You good?"

Knuckles staggered backward, still mostly stable, but it was obvious something unexpected had happened. His eyes darted back and forth, and Tails saw his face run through several emotions in the span of a few seconds as he got his bearings, before settling down into his usual semi-neutral frown.

"Yeah...no, yeah…" Maybe he hadn't completely gotten his bearings, "I'm alright, just kinda...balked on the dismount."

"Not gonna win any gold medals with it, that's for sure," Sonic said with a light chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Right…right...uh, the map?"

Sally immediately handed over the atlas as well as a pen. Knuckles got to work circling the general areas he knew the remaining emeralds to be. As he marked, the trio felt a growing sense of relief when they realized that none of the gems were inside Robotnik-controlled territory - most likely intentional on the Master Emerald's part, Tails figured, to whatever extent a stone could be sapient.

Only one emerald appeared to be outside of the kingdom's borders, but thankfully it was located in the neighboring United Federation, which was a known ally. The President had actually been involved with drafting the Chaos Treaty some years ago, giving each nation party to the agreement permission to utilize chaos energy so long as it was approved by the guardian, A.K.A. Knuckles the Echidna.

"All things considered, this could have been worse," Sally mused, "Even the furthest one should be reachable within a day or two."

Sonic turned his head in Tails' direction, one eyebrow quirked, "Whatcha think? Might need more than one plane?"

"I was thinking about that earlier," the fox responded, staring at the ground in thought, "We have enough planes, but as far as I know only Antoine and I have flown in combat. I'd be worried about anyone else getting caught in a dogfight with a Robotnik drone."

"Well, how about this then:" Sally offered, "Two emeralds are within 200 miles of Mobotropolos. Sonic and I can form a ground team and recover those on foot, while you and the other three split up into groups of two and fly to the further ones."

"That can work," Tails responded, keeping his secondary mission in mind, "I could team up with Rotor and take the X-1 to the most distant emerald," he pointed on the map to the mark on the absolute other side of the kingdom, some 600 miles away, "And Antoine and Bunnie can take the Tornado I and track down the one in the U.F. They're good with diplomacy."

Sonic flashed a one-sided smirk, "Alright, it's a plan, then! Let's get a move on and maybe we can get this done before nightfall!"

Tails was relieved, or as much as he could be considering the circumstances. The emerald he'd be heading towards was the one closest to Robotnik controlled territory. Uncomfortably close, as a matter of fact, as the doctor's boundaries had slowly been encroaching upon it since the last time the emeralds were scattered.

Maybe, if he were smart about it, he could use it as an opportunity to work his way into one of the doctor's outposts to access a computer terminal. Of course, Rotor would be an obstacle, but it wouldn't be the first time they infiltrated an enemy facility; Tails could try to convince him that there was a viable reason to enter that wouldn't suggest an ulterior motive. More lying. It couldn't be helped.

The kitsune looked up to see Sally giving Knuckles' hand a firm shake.

"Thank you Knuckles; you've been an enormous help."

"Ah, it's fine," Knuckles replied with a somewhat unconvincing nonchalance, but then his gaze hardened, "Just make sure you keep me in the loop, and see that the emerald returns to the island once this all blows over."

"You have my word."

Knuckles seemed satisfied enough with that, but as the group made toward the plane, he caught Tails' attention on his way by.

"Hey," the echidna said, "I've been thinking about something you said the last time we had one of our little chaos energy experiments. Something about quantum physics?"

"Oh, yeah," Tails replied, his memory jogged, "My theory that chaos energy might be related to how conventional physics breaks down on a quantum scale. That was a while ago; I'm honestly surprised you remembered it."

"Right...well, I'm no physicist, but...I saw something that I think might be important in the temple."

"Yeah?" Tails' interest was piqued. It wasn't every day Knuckles wanted to talk shop.

"There are some carvings there, from the echidnas before me who built it. I was looking at them the other day and there are drawings there that look like they're showing a scale, and each drawing gets smaller the closer it gets to the Master Emerald shrine. Most of 'em look pretty...I dunno, science-y. Thought you might wanna take a look."

"Well, yeah, we can check it out," Tails said, slightly confused but also intrigued. He'd take any opportunity he could to learn more about the emeralds, especially now that it was pertinent to their mission. Sonic and Sally had noticed Tails' absence and had turned around at the bottom of the stairs.

"You guys go on ahead and get the plane started," Tails told them, "Knuckles and I are gonna take a look at something. Should just be a sec."

The two merely shrugged, and Sonic flashed a thumbs up before heading off into the forest toward the landing site.

Tails followed Knuckles into the temple, illuminated only by the sunlight filtering in from the tall ceiling in brilliant rays. The walls were alive with intricate carvings of all sorts, from ancient echidnas, to religious etchings, to soliloquies scribed in some long lost language. The fox could get lost in them for hours if time allowed, but unfortunately it didn't, and Tails noted a pointed lack of anything resembling what Knuckles had described.

He turned to face the echidna, hoping to ask him to clarify, but before he could get the words out he was met with a hefty punch to the gut. As he buckled over, he felt two strong hands grip his arms and he was shoved violently against the wall. His vision was filled by the face of an apparently furious Knuckles.

This was unexpected.

"What game are you playing?" the echidna growled, "Where's Tails?"

"What?" Tails responded, utterly bewildered, "_I'm _Tails! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Save it," Knuckle's voice increased in volume, and his right hand moved to grip Tails' neck, "You think I'm that stupid?"

"W-what are you...saying…" Tails choked out. He was rapidly becoming aware that not all of his functions were strictly cosmetic. It was readily apparent that the act of breathing wasn't simply an obfuscation to convince others; he _needed_ oxygen. And right now, he wasn't getting any.

"I'm the guardian of the emeralds! Chaos energy flows through me! When I connect with the Master Emerald, I can feel the chaos signature of every living being for miles around. And just now, when I connected? Guess whose chaos signature was nowhere to be found."

_Oh no._

"So who are you, huh?" he continued, "Or _what _are you, 'cause we both know you're not alive."

Being lifted by his throat and realizing his cover had been blown was bad enough, but ripping open _that_ wound recently formed kick-started something in Tails. He knew, logically, that he had no adrenaline in his bionic system to initiate such a response, but _something _took hold of him in that moment.

The HUD flashed back into his vision, and with it, time slowed down. Just like in the plane on the way to the island, he was able to calculate everything from the exact force of Knuckles' grip on his throat, to the range of mobility in each of his extremities. With an adequate plan of attack now formed in a fraction of a millisecond, he sprung into action.

The kitsune lifted his legs off the ground and, now anchored to the wall only by Knuckles' grip, sent both feet straight on into his foe's chest with far more force than the echidna could have been expecting. Knuckles landed awkwardly on his back, and Tails knew he couldn't waste time recovering, he had to be on the offensive.

Knuckles kicked himself back onto his feet, and swung a hard right at his incoming adversary. Tails dodged easily, but was out of sorts and couldn't react to the following left jab, again aimed right at his stomach. The android dropped down to one knee, momentarily caught out, but he could sense what was coming next without even seeing it. He reached a hand out to his right, and grabbed the echidna's leg mid-kick. He slung the guardian around, and sent him flying into a nearby pillar.

Knuckles hit the structure hard, much harder than Tails had hoped, and fell to the ground. The fox was on him in an instant, holding him to the ground and staring his friend down. He tried to put forth an angry expression, but he was pretty sure he simply looked manic. Probably just as well.

"Listen!" he hissed, "I _am_ Tails. I have always _been_ Tails. The same Tails you've known all these years."

Knuckles stared up at him, rage still apparent in his eyes, but he was listening, that was something.

"Look, things have been weird lately," he began, wondering how in the world he was going to navigate this minefield, "I...I don't really understand everything myself, but I'm not who I thought I was. You're right, I'm not...I'm not normal. It's something that's only come to light recently."

"You're bullshitting me," Knuckles accused.

"I'm _not_. Please, Knuckles, you have to trust me. I would never betray you, or the Freedom Fighters, or anyone else. Please."

Knuckles opened his mouth to respond, but closed it just as quickly. The rage was simmering down into a suspicious glare, and Tails began to think he might actually get through to him.

"Not normal, huh? The hell does that mean?"

The two sat, unblinking, for a long while as Tails carefully considered his response.

"I...I don't want to hurt anybody, and I just want to make things right. That's what it means. I know I'm being vague but you just have to trust me, Knuckles. I'm begging you."

"_What are you two doing._"

It was phrased as a question, but spoken as a demand. And it rang like thunder across the walls of the temple in the voice of Sally Acorn.

Tails was off Knuckles in an instant. Standing upright to face the princess. He kept watch in the corner of his eye for any sudden movements on Knuckles' part, but the echidna merely got up with some difficulty and stood still as well. Tails inwardly grimaced; he really didn't mean to throw him that hard.

"Well?"

"Sally," Tails began, but he had absolutely no clue where to go from here, "Knuckles…"

"We were just doing some sparring."

Tails had to restrain himself from turning to stare at his friend in shock. He was...helping him? Why? He'd just attacked him!

"Sparring?" Sally responded incredulously, "Now? What on Mobius made you decide that _right now_ was the appropriate time for roughhousing?"

"The emerald I'll be retrieving is near Robotnik territory," Tails jumped in, "I haven't fought in the field in a while; Knuckles just wanted to make sure I could still defend myself."

The princess eyed them both suspiciously. Tails could tell she didn't believe a word.

"That didn't look like sparring. It didn't _sound _like sparring."

"C'mon, Princess, so we got a little carried away. It happens," Knuckles countered. Tails still had no idea why the guardian was coming to bat for him like this, but he was immensely grateful either way. He tried his best to show it with his eyes.

"Tails, we really need to get going," she was practically staring daggers at the fox, but that wasn't where his concern was at the moment. He simply nodded, thankful for any excuse to leave the temple. He didn't know how he managed to worm his way out of that one, but he was certain it would be something that would hang over his head for a while.

As he and Sally descended the stairs, Tails didn't dare turn around. All the same, he could feel the echidna's eyes burning holes into the back of his skull. Yeah, this wasn't the end of it. He'd be naive to think otherwise.

"So, you still sticking to the 'sparring' story?" Sally asked him once they were in the forest en route to the Tornado.

Tails shot her a glare, "It's not a story; it's what happened."

"Mmhm."

Sally said nothing of the incident to Sonic upon their return to the plane, but it didn't take a sleuth to know that there was something hanging in the air. Sonic didn't pry, and Tails certainly wasn't about to offer the information willingly. He just had to hope that, when Sally inevitably mentioned it, his big brother would have enough confidence in him to trust that everything was under control.

Even though it definitely wasn't.

The three climbed back aboard the craft, and the silence followed with them. The only things that met Tails' ears were the drone of the propellor and the rush of the wind past the cockpit. Until about a mile out from the island, when his trance was broken by a single, two-word message from Knuckles vibrating his wrist communicator:

_Thin ice._

* * *

Metal. That's all there seemed to be in this realm. The guards that carried the boy's limp, exhausted body were metal. Their heavy, ungainly steps clanged against a corrugated steel floor. The walls were tinted an unsightly gray, and were framed haphazardly by exposed conduit, pipes, and other mechanized miscellania. It was all metal.

The walls gave way to a gaping corridor lined on each side by what seemed like miles of vertical bars. He couldn't get a clear view beyond his hulking chaperones as they turned into the hallway, but he was pretty sure he could see movement from within each cell. What he couldn't have ignored even if he tried were the noises.

Groaning, yelling, screaming, crying, all reverberating through the iron chasm like Hell's amphitheatre. His innocent mind could barely comprehend it, but even if he couldn't appreciate the enormity of the situation, the boy had always fancied himself a clever child, and he knew this was no place for a youngling.

The captors threw him unceremoniously into an empty cell, and the door slammed shut behind him. He took a brief look around his new dwelling with what little strength he had left. His only comforts, it appeared, would be a worn-out mattress and a hole in the corner he guessed counted as the "facilities".

Soon another set of footsteps began stomping down the corridor, but these weren't metal. They sounded like...boots, and their pace was...almost leisurely. The voices from the cells seemed to follow the steps. Some begged, some yelled insults, some cried, some just screamed. But it was all because of those steps. Or, rather, whoever it was they belonged to.

He didn't have to wonder for long, as an imposing shadow soon sprawled across the floor in front of his cell. The man who cast it defied explanation. His gargantuan, round frame demanded the young boy's attention. A pair of dark goggles peered down at him, with only the faintest hint of the piercing corneas hidden beneath. A wild, frayed, and offensively orange mustache lashed out in either direction underneath his bulbous nose. How could someone have that much hair under their nose but none on their head?

"Ah, little one, how are we today?", his voice had the resonance of a lion, and the consistency of sandpaper.

The young boy was too terrified to respond. He could only stare meekly up at this demon man outside his chamber.

"Oh, not so talkative? It's okay, I understand. My friends _were _quite rough with you."

A sickening smile cracked its way across the man's face.

"I'll tell you what: in the interest of getting to know each other, let's start with names, hm? You do have a name, don't you, child?"

"M-my name...my name is Ezra."

"Well hello Ezra!" No man with eyes like those had any business trying to sound so chipper. "It's oh so very nice to meet you. My name's Ivo.

"And I think we're going to have a lot of fun together."


	6. Hands of a Government Man

**Hey hey! Hope everyone's staying healthy and taking precautions. I know they've been moving our shifts around like crazy at work over here, but hey, we'll get through it. In the meantime I finally buckled down and finished chapter five! Thanks as always for the reviews, they really do make a writer's day. Alright, let's kick it!**

* * *

o-o-o-o-o-o

* * *

"What do you mean they were fighting?"

"I mean they were _fighting_! What else?"

Sally's voice was a whisper but her tone was forceful all the same. The others were in the workshop making last minute preparations for the trip, much too far for them to hear her, but Sally Acorn wasn't one to leave things to chance. They were in danger of losing light, and chaos hunting was hard enough during the day; it would be torturous under the pitch black of a new moon. Last she saw, Tails and Rotor were working on mounting the targeting computer back into the X-1 while Antoine, with Bunnie's assistance, reacquainted himself with the Tornado I's controls. With everyone else otherwise occupied, she'd taken the opportunity to grab Sonic and spirit him away into the house.

"What would Tails and Knuckles have to fight about? _I _was the one snapping at the guy the whole time," Sonic questioned.

"I don't know, I really don't. They said they were just sparring, but trust me Sonic, you don't get the look in the eyes that they had if all you're doing is 'just sparring'. You've been in combat enough times; you know what I mean."

Sonic took a glance outside the glass door toward the workshop, as if looking in the general direction of his brother would somehow give him an answer. Loathe as he was to admit it to himself, he _did _know what she meant.

"Well what do you want me to do, Sal? I mean, I can talk to Tails about it, but who knows if I'll be able to get a straight answer out of him. Plus, we should probably wait until we're done with the mission."

Sally remind quiet, as if trying to solve a puzzle she didn't have all the pieces to.

"And hey," Sonic added, trying to fill the silence, "maybe they really _were_ just messin' around."

"Maybe," the princess conceded, "But the whole scene just felt...off. I could practically feel the...the _vitriol_. And really, the thing that gets me, Sonic, is that Tails had Knuckles pinned. Absolutely pinned! Don't get me wrong, Tails is a good enough fighter, but I can't think of _anyone _who could keep Knuckles held down for very long, Freedom Fighter or not, and Tails had him laid out."

Sonic had to admit that did sound strange, especially if the two had been as heated as Sally seemed to think. Knuckles, above all else, had near-Herculean strength, and possessed the fighting skill to use it. It wasn't like him to let himself get completely incapacitated, even if it _was_ just a sparring session.

"Don't worry, Sal, I'll check in on him. But listen, I've known Tails for a long time; he's a reserved kinda guy. If you keep prodding him, he'll just be more likely to keep things to himself. If he wants to tell us, he'll tell us in his own time, but if not...we just gotta trust him."

Sally let out a long exhale. "You're right, you're right," she responded begrudgingly, now looking out the window herself, "But we're a team, y'know? It just doesn't feel right keeping those kinds of things from each other. Not that I blame Tails, of course, but I just feel obligated. Is that wrong?"

Sonic's usual smirk was back now in full force, "Nah, Sal! You kiddin'? You're our leader, it's natural for you to be worried! You just gotta know when it's time to worry, and when it's time to..._worry _worry. Know what I mean?"

Sally chuckled, "I think I do. Thank you, Sonic."

"No prob. And, hey, look, if you say something weird was going on, I believe ya. You're the most observant person I know, Sal. Just because we're not gonna press Tails about it, doesn't mean we can't...you know, keep a lookout and make sure everything's still right-side-up. You're right: we're a team."

"You might have a career in conflict management, Mr. Hedgehog," Sally teased.

"Pfft, I manage conflict every time I bust Robotnik's toys up! It's what I do best!"

A quick buzz interrupted their banter - Sally's communicator. Sonic looked over her shoulder as she checked it, and was met with a small picture of Bunnie next to the text:

_Where'd y'all get off to?_

"Looks like we're being beckoned," said Sally as she stood, "I suppose we should get back; we'll be leaving soon."

"Gotcha. Where is our emerald, again? Somewhere in the central territories, yeah?"

"Right. In the Marble Garden region, if Knuckles' directions are accurate."

Sonic let out a whistle, "Man, haven't been there in a while. Beautiful countryside, though - plenty of ruins to ramp off."

"Planning on doing some ramping during our specially assigned mission?"

"Only if the situation calls for it!"

Another buzz met the duo's ears, and Sonic looked over Sally's shoulder to see the new message.

_If y'all don't get back soon I might think you're up to something...inappropriate ;)_

"_Bunnie!_" Sally gasped. This time it was Sonic's turn to laugh hysterically.

As they returned to the workshop, it seemed like the time to deploy was near. The hangar in particular was a buzz of activity. Rotor and Tails had seemingly finished their work on the X-1, and were huddled with Antoine and Bunnie around a metal table, the atlas spread out before them

"I 'ave had experience with ze President before," Antoine said, apparently addressing Rotor specifically, "He iz a reasonable man, I do not zink it will be a problem."

"Well...if you're sure," the walrus responded, his inflection signaling that he wasn't quite satisfied with the answers he was getting.

"What's the deal?" Sonic questioned as he and Sally approached the group.

"Monsieur Rotor iz 'aving concerns about ze location of our emerald."

"Knuckle's circle has a United Federation military base inside it," Rotor continued, "It's probable that they've already recovered the emerald and are keeping it under lock and key there, and...I dunno, it just worries me. I've seen how their foreign relations operate and I don't like thinking about a military being so...jumpy."

"We have an alliance with the U.F., it shouldn't be an issue," stated Sally.

"Zat iz what I 'ave been saying!"

"But you know how things get, Sal; a piece of paper doesn't mean anything when things get tense." Rotor responded, "What if they refuse to hand it over? It's not like Antoine and Bunnie can just take it by force."

"Then we get Uncle Chuck or someone on the horn and just tell 'em we've got reason to worry about Robotnik makin' a move," Sonic interjected, "He's as much of a threat to the U.F. as he is to us, after all."

"The Chaos Treaty is a legally binding document," Sally added, "If the U.F. denied us access to the emerald when we are under clear threat from a terroristic enemy, they would be subject to severe sanctions from the other nations party to the agreement, plus it would greatly harm their relations with the Acorn Kingdom. They can't afford to make a fuss about it."

"And zey will not," Antoine declared, and turned to Rotor, "Trust me, my brother, it will be eazy as a cake!"

"Fine, if you're all sure," Rotor said, a sheepish smile forming, "Guess I was just being paranoid."

"Nah, man. Paranoid's good when you're messing around with chaos emeralds. You never know what might happen," said Sonic, "Tails knows all about that, don't you, bud?"

The group's attention shifted to the fox, who at some point had stopped paying attention and was intently focusing on the map.

"Bud?"

"..."

"Yo...Mobius to Tails?"

"Oh! Sorry, I was...what's up?"

A collective chuckle resonated among the group as the kitsune startled, but Sonic didn't miss Sally giving him the briefest of glances from the corner of her eye.

_Maybe there _is _something going on with the guy… _he thought, _but we can't get into it now; we don't have time._

"Ah, don't worry about it, man," said Sonic, "I think it's about time we all stop yappin' and get to work! Sal, you ready to do this thing?"

"So long as everyone else is."

"Alright, well, we've only got one runway," Tails advised, "so Antoine, you and Bunnie head out first, Rotor and I'll follow behind. Sonic, can you lock the shop up when you guys leave?"

"You got it, hoss!"

"Alright, looks like we're all set," Sally commented, "Freedom Fighters, let's do it to it."

"Sal! That's my thing!"

* * *

**o-o-o-o-o-o**

* * *

Even in times of strife, tumultuous uncertainty and no small amount of danger, a king's duty is, first and foremost, to his people.

It gave Max comfort to be among the mundane - the normal. After the past few days of painstakingly discussing all manner of horrid eventualities and bearing the heavy weight of potential conflict, visiting Spring Yard Elementary was the closest thing to paradise the royal could imagine. As part of a citywide philanthropic program, the school which donated the most money to children's hospitals in the kingdom would receive a day off from normal classes to attend a party in celebration, and the king himself was the keynote speaker. 'Kids Helping Kids', the initiative was called, and it was one of Max's favorite times of the year every year.

Visiting the schools took him back to a time when his own little girl had run excitedly through halls much like this one. Back then, when Sally had reached the age to attend classes, he and her mother had seriously considered the possibility of homeschooling and private tutors, fearing that her status as a royal might earn her resentment or even hostility from her peers - or, God forbid, the faculty - should she attend an institution. It was Alicia that eventually convinced him that, if Sally was to one day rule over the kingdom, it wouldn't do for her to be seperate from the populace. She would have to learn how to deal with the criticism from a young age, or she never would.

And Sally, bless her, not only never once complained, she handled it with aplomb. Teasing came and went, as it does for all children, but Sally Acorn demonstrated her natural leadership ability and personability from a young age. He attributed that to Alicia; in the end, she knew what was best for her daughter. And though King Maximilian couldn't be prouder of the outstanding young woman Sally had grown into, he also couldn't help but look back wistfully on those days, when the largest problems he had to worry about his daughter facing were passing tests or dealing with boys.

_But we can't turn back time, can we, old boy? _he thought to himself _She doesn't need me to worry, she can handle things on her own now._

The good times of old will always fade, but are eclipsed by the joy of the future - an old echidna proverb, if he remembered correctly. It gave him comfort in this ever changing world, and as he looked back on his life to this point, he couldn't help but find it true.

The king's royal guards dressed in plain clothes for this occasion, with only a small insignia on their button-ups to indicate their status, so as not to disrupt the educational atmosphere. They guided him through the lobby and into the main office, where he was met with a predictable, but not unwelcome, amount of enthusiasm.

"Your Highness!" greeted Principal Crest, a small but nevertheless confident woman of some sort of avian species, falcon most likely, "It's an honor to have you at our institution. Thank you so much for taking the time to come visit us."

She punctuated the greeting with a respectful bow, after which Maximilian smiled and took her hand in a firm shake.

"The pleasure is mine, Principal Crest," he responded warmly, "Speaking to the future of our nation is one of the most gratifying experiences I could think of. I wouldn't miss it."

"Well, the children have worked very hard this year, they've been looking forward to your visit all week," she beamed, "They're out at the sports fields right now for game time, but we'll bring them into the auditorium at 2:00 for the speech. Is there anything I can get you while you wait?"

"No, Ms. Crest, I'm perfectly fine; thank you for the offer. But would you mind if we headed to the auditorium? Not to cause any alarm, but it would be best to get a look at the space beforehand, for security purposes."

"Oh," the woman responded with slightly raised brows, "Is there any trouble?"

"Just a precaution, ma'am, nothing more," one of the guards, a ferret who looked to be in his mid-30s, added, "Standard kingdom security protocol is to have guards posted throughout the premises. We don't foresee any issues, but you can never be too thorough, especially when concerning children."

"Of course, of course! I'll show you the way. It's just down this north hallway…"

The king let his eyes wander as he followed Ms. Crest and his guards through the hallways. It was an older building, he noted, with slightly narrow corridors and walls that had faded only the tiniest bit since their last coat of paint. It made Maximilian feel at home, in a way. Unlike the rigid sterility that many new, state-of-the-art edifices tended to exude, Spring Yard felt warm, lived-in, awash with fond memories and countless stories imbued in each ceiling tile or water fountain.

He idly wondered how many futures had been set aloft in these halls. How many people's lives had been shaped by lessons taught in structures just like this? Perhaps that was another reason Max enjoyed visiting schools: so much hope, so much potential. He was glad he could contribute to that directly, even if it was only in the form of a 10-minute speech.

The security sweep, as promised, was relatively standard and brief, and select guards posted themselves at the exits while school staff worked on audio levels and the king scanned through his speech once more. The auditorium was large enough, an open expanse of seating in front of the stage, plus a single balcony on the back wall. Spring Yard was not among the largest schools in Mobotropolis, but no school within the city limits of the nation's capital could really be considered _small_.

And it wasn't long before the student body came in to fill those seats. Max stood with Principal Crest behind the curtain, out of view of the students, but he could hear the pure excitement in their voices, no doubt boosted by their recent physical activity. It brought the ever-present smile on his face into a full grin; he wasn't sure when the last time was that he was so excited to address a crowd.

"Children! Children!" Crest announced with authority as she stepped to the podium, "I hope you've had a fantastic day so far. Mr. Finch tells me the baseball game was particularly...competitive?"

This earned a bit of laughter and some cheering from the children, plus some lighthearted bickering from some boys in front. Max couldn't suppress a snicker. Competitive indeed.

"It's been well deserved," the principal continued, "You've all worked so very hard and thanks to you, some less fortunate children's lives are going to be just a little bit easier. I'm sure you're all looking forward to our special guest this afternoon, so I won't waste any more time. Spring Yard Elementary, would you please give a warm welcome to His Highness, King Maximilian Acorn!"

The room erupted into the sort of cacophonous mirth that could only be produced by sufficiently stimulated schoolchildren. As the king reached the podium, and began his address however, the din was quieted with a chorus of shushes, and beyond that, not the faintest hint of sound was heard from the throngs.

"Students of Spring Yard Elementary," he began, "First thing's first, I would like to say how much of an honor it is to be able to join you this afternoon. Thank you, sincerely, for allowing me to be your guest today. And thank you furthermore, for the wonderful work you have done for the Kids Helping Kids program.

"I say this with no exaggeration: the work you have done here, combined with the work of all the other schools in the city of Mobotropolis, will, in a very real sense, change the lives of children and their families. These are people who have suffered at the hands of debilitating illness, whose lives have seen great sorrow, and whose hearts have been put through immense trial. But thanks to efforts like yours, these families can be reminded that they are not alone, that they are not without help, and that there is a ray of light even in the darkest hour.

"But furthermore, that is what I see in you all as well. I'm sure you've heard something like this before, but it bears repeating: you are a light of hope for us all. You are the future of the kingdom. You are the future of Mobius. From time to time, you might hear people tell you that you are too young, too inexperienced to make a difference - that you are insignificant. Do not accept those lies.

"Because I can tell you, in my time as ruler of this kingdom, I have seen some of the most extraordinary things there are to see accomplished by ones whose strength of will and determination far eclipse such trivial matters. You've proven that you have the potential to be among such people, and now I ask you:

"Will you realize this potential?"

* * *

**o-o-o-o-o-o**

* * *

Penn paced along the front of Green Hill Base's main building, his eyes frequently flitting up to the parking lot and just as quickly redirecting them to the sidewalk in front of him. It wasn't like the general to show this type of impatience, but all the troops at the base knew what it meant when he did, so they gave him a wide berth for the time being, and spoke to him only when spoken to.

At long last, he heard a soft hum in the distance, which turned into a rumble, and was eventually accompanied by the sound of an engine. He lifted his eyes toward the lush, flowing landscape that bestowed upon the region its name, and spotted a nondescript black sedan being escorted by a G.U.N. vehicle down the lone isolated access road.

As the vehicles crossed into the parking lot, Penn marched toward them with a gait that was only a hair shy of a jog, his brow furrowed in anger and worry. Before the convoy had even come to a complete stop, he was there, and not a moment later did the back door of the sedan open, revealing one Sir Charles the Hedgehog.

"Penn, what the devil is it?" he said, hastily stepping out of the car, "I haven't received any reports of casualties so I have to assume the recovery mission wasn't a wash. I'm very curious as to what could be so important that you'd call a royal meeting on such short notice."

"The recovery was most definitely _not _a wash, Charles; that's what we need to discuss," Penn responded curtly, "Where is the king? I requested he accompany you."

"He's giving a speech at an elementary school as part of that children's hospital initiative. I left a message to his aid to inform him as soon as his obligation is finished."

"And you didn't think to inform them that this is an _urgent matter_?", Penn's expression was even harsher now, his voice laced with barely concealed fury.

"Well I can't very well tell them that in good conscience if I'm not privy to that information myself, can I?"

Penn clenched his fists, and looked ready to retort, but thought better of it. "We don't have time for this. Come with me."

He led the hedgehog through the doors of the main building and along a twisting maze of gargantuan hallways, alcoves, and offices. Some were ordinary, even mundane, like the break room with its droning soda machine and kitchen countertops, or the open maintenance closet with its scattered supplies and breakers on the wall. But Sir Charles knew exactly where they were going, and it would be far from the warm familiarity the main building provided.

It took a while, and the silence stretched on the entire way through the endless doors and halls and stairs, but finally the duo reached an elevator and stepped inside. The general entered a code into the keypad above the control panel, and accessed a small door below the lowest buttons, revealing more basement sublevels. He pressed the lowest one, B5, and the lift began its descent. Penn remained stoic as ever, but there was a quiet intensity in his eyes, one that was distinct from his usual grouchiness. This wasn't military-born gruff, Charles noted, this was real.

Eventually, after navigating yet another sprawling expanse, they reached their true destination. Penn entered a final keycode, and he and Charles were granted entrance to the war room. There were a handful of men already waiting for them, some wearing tactical gear, but most had defaulted to more casual attire. The hedgehog could only assume these were the team Penn had led out to Robotnik territory earlier that day.

"Gentlemen," Penn greeted them with the quickest of nods, "Sir Charles Hedgehog."

"It's a pleasure," Charles stated warmly.

"Sir, not that we don't appreciate Sir Charles' company," one spoke up, a wolf, "But wasn't the king supposed to be here as well?"

"The king...has other business to attend to," Penn responded, quite a bit of strain evident in his words, "He's a busy man as of late."

Charles turned to address the men, "Rest assured, I'll relay all necessary information to King Maximilian once I return to the palace."

"No need," Penn interjected, "I fully intend to have a separate conversation with him as well. This is vital information; we can't simply rely on sending this kind of intel through the grapevine as if it were some high school rumor."

"Well pray tell, what _is_ it then?" Charles questioned, letting a definite note of annoyance creep into his tone.

Penns eyes shifted to his men, and they all shared knowing glances. Charles heard the clattering of plastic wheels on the cement floor, and turned to see a racoon rolling a chair beside him.

"Take a seat, Sir Charles, and we'll get down to the matter at hand," Penn replied.

Charles did as instructed, and with the tap of a keyboard, Penn activated a large wall-mounted screen in the center of the far wall. It displayed a still frame of a video, black and white, the camera focused on an expanse of forest from slightly above the treeline.

"This is the video log from the Robotnik drone we downed earlier this morning," Penn elaborated, "We've had our computer scientists working on decryption software day and night for the past three months, so to finally get some usable data from one of those things was quite the breakthrough. This particular log was from three days ago. We scanned the footage in this particular time frame in order to find...what you're about to see."

The video jumped to life, and the camera slid through the air above the trees with frightening agility. The movements seemed to be erratic, without purpose, until a shrill beep sounded through the speakers, and the camera made a sharp dive into the brush.

There it found a young boy, feline in species, who couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old, carrying a bag on his back that seemed to be filled with what looked like berries. He stopped, eyes wide upon seeing the robot, and whirled around in retreat. He might have gotten three good steps in before another robot darted from the shadows, ensnaring the child in its brutal metal appendages. Charles could feel his own heart racing, and he absently realized his mouth was hanging open, but his focus remained firmly on the video.

The child's screams echoed throughout the space, captured by the tinny microphones embedded into the droid. He struggled and fought rather impressively, but the metal monstrosities easily outmatched him. Eventually, the first drone approached the struggling child and extended a rod outward. It contacted the kitten and sent a heavy shock through him, but still he screamed. The sound sent chills down the elder hedgehog's spine.

"STOP! STOP! _STOOOOOOOP!" _the young voice screeched as his captors lifted him high above the trees, "HELP! MOMMY! MO-"

The screen went dark as Penn closed the file, and the horrifying silence that filled the chamber was almost worse than the screams themselves.

"_That_...is why I called you in, Sir Charles," Penn finally said. His voice was thick with anger once more, but this time directed at the large, now blank, monitor in front of them.

"So…" it was all Charles could do to keep his voice steady, "Those 'unconfirmed reports'…"

"Are now very much confirmed," the racoon finished.

After a beat, Charles rose quickly from his chair, and strode over to the front of the room where the general still stood. Their eyes locked together.

"General Penn," the hedgehog said, "On behalf of the Acorn Kingdom, I owe you the sincerest of apologies. We have brushed aside your insistence of this threat for far too long, and now not only have children been harmed, but the whole of the nation may be in grave danger as well."

"Apology accepted, Charles," Penn replied, "But that is not where my concern lies at the moment. We have, according to the reports, at least ten children imprisoned behind enemy lines, and who knows what the hell that doctor is planning to do with them. I need the approval of the king for an immediate rescue effort."

"No, you don't," Charles returned, "Without the king present, I represent the royal palace in an official capacity. As I said, general, we have turned a blind eye to this for far too long, but no more. You have my authorization to mount any rescue operation you see fit.

"See to it that the king and the rest of the royal council are kept updated on the developments through the usual channels, and that we are consulted before the mission is launched. Once we have a plan, and a solid one, we can move in. I understand the situation is pressing, but there are lives at risk. I don't want to risk any more casualties by jumping in blindly."

"Of course," Penn replied, the faintest glimmer of hope and relief in his eyes, "Thank you, Charles. You're a good man."

"Yes, well, I need to get back to Mobotropolis. Max should be back soon, and I'll need to fill him in, unless you still want to…?"

"No, no," Penn responded, "I'll have my hands full here. It's best for you to let him know. We'll be in touch."

Charles nodded, and was prepared to make his exit, when a thought struck him as he reached the door.

"Penn?" he questioned, "Should we involve the Freedom Fighters?"

A silence not unlike the previous one engulfed the room once again, and Penn seemed to carefully consider his options.

"That's something I would like to discuss further with the king, if you don't mind," he finally offered, "But, yes, I suppose it would be for the best. The doctor isn't just grabbing children up to display in a trophy room; he has to have a plan, and they have extensive experience with Robotnik. Have them report to me after they've returned from their current operation."

"Will do."

As Charles exited the war room, he could already hear the general barking orders into his phone, but he had his mind on other matters. How could they have let this happen? The Acorn Kingdom, the nation that so intensely prided itself in putting its citizens first and foremost, had grown complacent. They'd foolishly taken the reprieve from Robotnik as a gift, rather than as the harbinger of doom it had proven to be.

As he was led back the way he came by what appeared to be a private or some other lower rank, Charles activated his communicator and immediately redialed a familiar number.

"Hello…? Yes, it's Sir Charles again. Listen, I need to speak to King Maximilian. It's urgent."

* * *

**o-o-o-o-o-o**

* * *

"Shug, you meant what you said to Rotor, right? You really think we won't have any problems?"

The biplane was now well on its way through the skies of the Acorn Kingdom, en route to Fort Drummond, a small but sufficiently fortified military installation on the western side of the United Federation. It had been a while since Antoine had sat in the pilot's seat, but the sensation of gliding through the clouds welcomed him back with open arms; it was like he'd never stopped.

"Do not worry, m'amour!" he assured his partner, "Like ze princess said, we are at peace with ze UF; zey may 'ave ze big guns, but we 'ave priority. Plus, I am to be sending a hailing signal before zey even see us. We will be in and out in a jiffy!"

Bunnie let his words assure her, but she couldn't relax, not completely. Things were getting mixed up, and she didn't need to be a military officer or a monarch to see it. Even disregarding all the hush-hush attitudes about Robotnik's silence, she couldn't help but feel there was tumult brewing within her own team! Sonic and Sally rushing off to have their own discussion right before a mission was odd enough, but she didn't miss the way they tread lightly around Tails and his strange behavior when they got back. Bunnie may be the fighter of the team, but she was more clever than the others might have given her credit for.

Tails had been quiet since he, Sonic, and Sally had returned from Angel Island. Well, quieter than usual, at least. Tails was a pretty soft-spoken kind of person, speaking out when needed but otherwise tending to keep to himself. Bunnie had always attributed that to whatever happened to the fox before Sonic found him all those years ago. But she spent enough time around Tails to know what the difference was between his usual introvertedness, and what felt like a conscious effort to remain in the background.

It wasn't that she didn't trust her teammates - her friends, but if there were secrets to be kept, there was likely trouble to come with them. More things lurking in the shadows. More things to worry about. And the absolute last thing the Acorn Kingdom needed was _more _trouble.

"Bunnie!" Antoine shouted with a note of alarm.

"What is it, shug?"

"We 'ave trouble!"

As if on cue, three Robotnik drones buzzed past the plane in the opposite direction, firing laser blasts as they screamed by. Luckily, Antoine's flying experience held true, and he was able to evade the initial attacks. Bunnie immediately reached for the blaster at her waist, and fired off a few shots in the direction of the drones as they circled back behind the plane.

"What are they doing out here?" she hollered, "We're not even near Robotnik territory!"

"Zey must have seen us near ze border!" Antoine shouted, dodging another blast aimed at the left wing, "Zey probably 'ave us identified as an easy target! Hah! Zey must not know Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot!"

From the corner of her eye, Bunnie spotted another drone drawing beside the Tornado, she spun, sensing her opportunity.

"Keep her steady, hon!" she shouted, and fired a blast directly into the robot's core. The drone shook with the force, and erupted into flame as it descended into the landscape below. One down.

The two behind continued the barrage, causing the plane to buck and weave as Antoine maneuvered it around the deadly laser fire. The drones, owing to their small size and light weight, outmatched the Tornado in speed and agility, making a clear shot with the plane's onboard weapons a daunting task, and the chances of another bot coming within range of Bunnie's blaster were slim at best.

"Hold on tightly!", Antoine shouted as the plane made a sharp descent into the valley below. Their pursuers followed deftly, even as the coyote weaved through the rock formations and scattered trees that dotted the areas surrounding the bottom.

As the plane shifted to navigate a knife flight between a cliff face and a particularly large oak, the chase was nearly ended when the Tornado's wing brushed an outcrop, knocking some rocks loose and sending a jarring clatter through the aircraft. The stunt served its purpose, however, as one of the robots was unprepared to clear the gap, and had to slow down and momentarily back out of the chase.

That was all Antoine needed. He jerked the plane into a violent wingover, and found the displaced drone within his sights. The bot was no match for the assault of the Tornado's machine guns, and was shredded to pieces before it even met the ground. Two down.

The final bogey would prove much more difficult to shake. Now a 1-1 fight, previous misdirection tactics proved to be useless, and though the Tornado was doubtlessly a marvel of engineering, it wouldn't hold up for much longer with the aggressive evasion tactics Antoine had been employing thus far.

Bunnie was just about to line up another shot with her blaster, but before she could even level her weapon, the whistle of a projectile rang out, and the last drone was engulfed in a spectacular fireball. As Bunnie whipped around, ready to ask Antoine if he had fired the rogue missile, an burst of static came from the communications system, followed by a voice, calm and even:

_This is Sierra Alpha hailing Tornado I. You folks looked to be in some trouble, hope it's alright that we cut in._

Two fighter jets, not dissimilar in design to the Tornado X-1, and decorated in the deep navy and crimson of the United Federation flag, appeared on either side of the Tornado. The two Freedom Fighters allowed themselves to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

"Oui, we are most grateful," Antoine responded, his smile audible in his words, "Zis is Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot of ze Acorn Kingdom Freedom Fighters. We are en route to Fort Drummond regarding a matter of national security."

_Roger that, Tornado I; we'll be glad to give you an escort the rest of the way._

"See? What did I tell you m'amour?" said Antoine over his shoulder, "Nothing to worry about!"


	7. Of Trust and Consequences

**Wowee, this one was really tough to write for whatever reason. Just one of those times where the words don't wanna come out. Either way, though, I'm really happy with it in the end. Hope everyone is staying safe, healthy, and sane. Enjoy!**

* * *

**o-o-o-o**

* * *

"Alright, this should be the epicenter of the signature," Tails stated as he and Rotor came to a stop. They'd reached the sandy beach of a rather large lake, its calm waters ebbing and flowing in what would be a soothing scene, if not for the knowledge that not but a few miles westward lay a stronghold of one Ivo Robotnik.

"Oh, don't tell me," said Rotor, annoyance tugging at his words, "It's underwater, isn't it?"

Tails glanced at the radar on his communicator, then back up at the watery expanse in front of them, "Not likely," he responded, "The lake's large, but it's only 7 feet deep at its lowest. We'd be able to see the glow from here."

"Oh thank goodness," Rotor sighed, but perked up as something seemed to occur to him, "How do you know how deep the water is?"

Tails mentally scolded himself. He'd analyzed the water body's properties without even thinking about it, but he couldn't very well let Rotor know that his living computer of a brain apparently came with a built-in depth finder.

"Sonic and I came out here some years back, before Robotnik closed in on it," he lied, as usual. He'd never seen this lake before in his life, "We thought it might be a good place to fish."

If Rotor thought that suspicious, it didn't show. Instead he gazed thoughtfully at the placid water. The only disturbance on the surface was the small waves sloshing from the wind's gentle push. It was almost insulting to Tails. How dare this day have the nerve to be so gorgeous?

"Welp, guess it's obvious what we do here," Rotor said, glancing down at his wrist, "I'll take the west side, you take the east? Meet up on the opposite bank?"

Tails nodded, eyes surveying the treeline on the far shore. Half a mile as the crow flies; it wouldn't take very long.

"Right. Turn up the sensitivity on your radar," the fox instructed, "Search in a Z-pattern. If you start to lose the signature just double back to the bank. If neither of us find anything, it must be behind us."

"Onward and upward, then," said Rotor, then with a wink, "Just holler if you meet any trouble."

"You do the same," Tails said with a smirk. And with that, the two split off and began the search. For this first time since his world collapsed down around him two nights ago, Tails was alone with his thoughts. He didn't even need to check his communicator for the signature readings; he'd uploaded the functionality into his own software the night before, something that seemed like the prudent thing to do at the time, but was starting to seem less wise after his near slip-up just moments ago.

It was becoming clearer with each passing second how truly untenable this situation was. It had seemed like a good idea in the deadly silence of the server room, when he'd first seen himself for what he was - removing the inhibitors, some select obfuscations, fiddling around with his digital inner workings the way a clockmaker might calibrate a timepiece. He'd been in something of a fervor then, though, not really contemplating the gravity of what he was doing to himself. He was only consumed by panic at the realization that he was tethered to a madman, the same madman that created him.

But though he had succeeded on one front, he had, in certain ways, sabotaged himself on others. As ironic as it was, Tails wasn't used to being a robot. He wasn't used to having to hide his true nature - the subroutines had always done it for him, completely without his knowledge. Now, after his revelation and late-night coding frenzy, the android had opened an electronic can of worms that he was still trying to reign in. And from the response he'd gotten from Knuckles, it didn't seem like he was doing all that great of a job at it. He tried to tell himself that, in spite of all the difficulties it was causing, the modifications had been for the best.

But there were still so many questions, every last one of them horrifying. How much of his anatomy was functional, and how much was purely for show? How had he been aging the past few years, or would he age at all? Why a fox? Why two tails?

_Can I really think, or is all this simply the sum of a mess of computing protocols?_

_Can I really feel?_

There was the rabbit hole again, staring him directly in his face. He didn't know if he'd ever be ready to commit and dive in. How does one even confront something like that? A therapist? Oh hey, shrink, good to meet you! Anyway, a while back I found out that I'm a completely inorganic machine created by an insane scientist to murder people and overthrow the government; and my entire life and possibly the entirety of what makes me a person may be a total lie! Who knew, huh?

He just about missed it, lost in his own thoughts, when a stark golden glow revealed itself from within a grouping of cattails, not far from the bank of a small stream that fed into the lake. Mentally switching off the chaos energy detection program, he began the trudge through the soggy underbrush toward the emerald. He habitually kept a lookout for any snakes, but then realized cottonmouth venom probably wouldn't do much to harm his useless circulatory system.

He picked up the stone and admired the power emanating from it, similar to that of the Master Emerald, but intrinsically incomplete. It sang a song in waves of energy, calling out a plaint to its six brothers.

Tails raised his wrist and dialed Rotor's communicator, but stopped just short of sending the call. An idea began to germinate, one that was decidedly underhanded and would only further confound the web of lies he'd been casting these past few days. But if he was going to find out the necessary details of his nature, it seemed like his best shot.

He let his eyes drift through the willows to the north, beyond which, he knew, rested a relatively small but nevertheless well-armored Robotnik outpost. Its outer walls began just shy of three miles from the lake, and the android figured it would hardly take him any time at all to reach it, especially considering how quickly he'd found the emerald.

Tails reached into the bag he'd been carrying since the two had left the plane, and removed a small, metallic cube. With the press of a button, the cube expanded outward until it was only just small enough to hold in one hand, and the fox quickly placed the emerald within and sealed the container. Immediately, the outpouring of chaos energy ceased, trapped and subdued by the device, and Tails returned it to the underbrush, carefully covering it in any spare brambles and leaves he could find.

Tails examined his handiwork after a short time, done in much the same way the killer in a murder mystery novel might hide a body, and continued onward around the edge of the water. If he played it cool enough, this would work. All he needed was a few minutes away from Rotor to execute what needed to be done. Get in, get the data, get out, and "find" the emerald. Simple as that; Rotor would never know Tails took his little detour, they'd accomplish the mission, and the fox would have his answers.

That was it, then. The plan was set, at least in his mind, and it was a rather uneventful trip the rest of the way around the lake. Tails took care to measure his pace, agonizing as it was, to hopefully make it seem like he was still searching. Even still, he reached the halfway point a solid five minutes before he saw Rotor brushing away the thickets toward their meeting spot.

"There's the wonder kid!" the walrus greeted playfully, "Find anything in your neck of the woods?"

"Zilch," Tails responded, schooling his expression with all his might.

"Yep, no dice on my end either. Hope this whole chaos connection stuff that Knuckles fed us wasn't just a load of bunk."

Better cut off that train of thought, Tails figured. He didn't need Rotor coming up with reasons to leave, but then again, directing him toward the actual emerald's hiding spot was beyond out of the question. He could, however, send him as far away as possible within their current operation zone under the pretext of a wider search. Yeah, a goose chase would do nicely.

"How about you circle back behind the lake and check around the plane?" he offered, "I can keep looking through these woods and see if there's anything that sticks out."

"You sure? Robotnik's got his whole outfit set up just over that rise; I'd feel weird making you head that way on your own."

Tails waved him off, hoping his mannerisms conveyed an adequate amount of nonchalance, "It's all good. It's only an outpost anyway, it's not like he's got any major operations happening there. I'll keep well enough hidden."

Tails could see visible concern work its way into Rotor's brow, but he didn't move to vocalize his reservations. They'd been on so many missions now that there was a layer of intrinsic trust to all of their interactions - a comradery amongst fellows, one that Tails knew full well he was violating.

"10-4, bud. But we've got the comms; make sure to holler if something doesn't feel right."

Tails gave a quick, two-fingered salute. "Always do."

And with that, the pair parted ways once more. As soon as Tails was sure he was out of Rotor's line of sight, he darted toward the direction of the base, twirling his tails not only for the extra speed but also to avoid the increasingly thick and noisy swampland.

He wouldn't have a huge amount of time, maybe 20 minutes at best, before Rotor inevitably came back empty-handed and confused. It would be enough time, but it was far from comfortable, and the android knew that most of that window would have to be spent waiting for his moment to enter the facility in the first place. What he'd told Rotor about its relative lack of protection was true, it wasn't a particularly well-guarded or critical infrastructure point for Robotnik, but dutiful SWATbots still lingered around the grounds like red ants on a hill, and thus the potential for danger was very much present.

Once he was near the compound, close enough to see the tall chain link fence topped with barbed wire through the trees, he floated himself toward the top of one of the taller pines. Careful to keep himself concealed, Tails ran an analysis program as his eyes scanned the expanse of the outpost.

Twenty-five SWATbots, his systems told him, all ground-based. He could only see seven patrolling the outer edges of the campus, so the rest must be inside, and once he was closer, he might be able to sense where exactly in the facility they were. It was something he'd learned from the files: all Robotnik SWATbots had a cybernetic link for communication and coordination in battle, and since Tails himself was more or less a highly advanced and intricate SWATbot, he was no exception.

It disgusted him, to put it simply, to look at these hulking goliaths of steel and destruction and to realize that he was considered among their ranks, even if only in a technical sense. He'd smothered his own cybernetic signature the moment he found out about it, which wasn't too difficult since it was tied to his locator which had to go as well. Two birds, one stone. Not that it made it any easier to stomach, of course, but he was getting pretty good at blocking those kinds of things out.

Tails figured a relatively direct approach would earn him the best chance of success. He couldn't fly in, it would leave him far too exposed, but there was a section of the southern fenceline heavily draped in foliage, which would provide him enough coverage to work his way toward the main building and slip inside. He kept among the trees as he worked his way around, careful to avoid any branches that wouldn't support his weight, and flitted down to the ground near his entry point.

But as he began his climb over the fence to begin the infiltration, he became aware of two things simultaneously: one, a snapping of a stick behind him, and two - the most readily apparent - Rotor's voice emphatically whisper-yelling his name.

Tails whipped around to meet his partner's eyes, alarm and confusion plain to see within them. Tails figured his own expression looked much the same. The two gawked at each other for what seemed like hours, but could only have been a couple of seconds, before Tails broke the silence.

"I-I thought you were checking the other side of the lake."

"Well we weren't strapped for time, so I thought I'd come give you some backup first. Didn't realize you'd be hoppin' fences on me."

"Look, Rotor, I-"

"The hell are you thinkin', kid? You tell me you'll be fine over here and the second I turn my back you decide to roll on in, guns akimbo?"

"What's the big deal, Rotor?" Tails countered, "I was just going to run in and do some recon. It's a new base so we'll need info on it; we do this kind of thing all the time."

It was bullshit, and Rotor knew it. _Tails_ knew that Rotor knew it.

The fox quickly realized his options for talking his way out of the situation were dwindling with each passing second. Rotor was becoming agitated and the fox in all honesty couldn't blame him one bit.

"Right, with days of planning, backup, and risk assessment. I don't think I've ever seen a team member try to dive into hostile territory with zero reinforcements. Plus you tried to send me off so I wouldn't even know what was going on, and I'd bet dollars to donuts Sally has no clue what you're up to! What is all this, Tails?"

"Okay okay okay, Rotor, listen," Tails interjected, "Look, you're upset, I would be too. But I just need to get in and out real quick. There's crucial data in Robotnik's network I need to get my hands on."

"What kind of data?"

"I can't tell you that, Rotor, just please trust me. There's a reason I didn't tell anyone; if too many people know about what's going on it could be extremely dangerous. People could die."

That seemed to strike a chord with Rotor, as Tails witnessed his expression fall from one of worry and irritation to one of pure terror.

"Seriously? What kinda shit did you get yourself in, bud?"

Tails crossed his arms and turned away from Rotor. How much did he really want to divulge to his teammate? He obviously couldn't just come out with everything, but he'd been caught red-handed. It wasn't as if he could just sweep everything under the rug like he'd somehow miraculously done with Knuckles.

_Rotor's been my friend for years. I don't have to tell him everything, but he's earned the right to know at least part of what's going on._

"To be honest, I don't entirely know," Tails finally said, "That's part of the reason I need to get into that base. I swear I'll come clean to you and everyone else the second I can, but...but I just can't right now."

"Tails, if your life is in danger, I have to-"

"All our lives are in danger!"

_If I even count as alive…_

The thought came unbidden, and so quickly Tails didn't have time to stifle it. It felt like a stake driven through his mechanized heart, and he had to make a conscious effort not to physically wince. He had plenty to panic about as it was, he couldn't afford to fight an existential war at the same time, but it was always there, nagging at the back of his mind - no doubt a mangled cluster of 1's and 0's.

He must have betrayed his sudden apprehension, because Rotor immediately softened.

"Look bud, let's just find that emerald, we'll head back to HQ, and you and I can talk this whole thing over with Sally. We'll work everything out; there ain't no need for daring-do type antics."

"They're not antics, Rotor," Tails responded, his voice steely and determined, "This needs to be done, as soon as possible. I'm going in there, and there isn't anything you can do to stop me."

Rotor seemed pensive, but only for a moment, before his countenance resolved into one of equal certainty.

"Well if that's the case, then I'm going in there with you. We're a team after all. I can't let you do this by yourself."

Tails did a double take. Out of all the responses Rotor could have had, this was one he hadn't particularly counted on. Nevertheless, he didn't want his friend to have to shoulder any of this weight.

"No, I can't let you do that. Like you said, this is way against protocol, and you need plausible deniability. At least this way you can tell Sally you tried to stop me."

"I don't care about that, I care about you comin' out of there in one piece. We'll deal with Sal when this is all said and done. But if what's in there is as important as you say it is...I trust you. I want to help."

Tails didn't know what to think. He'd been so wrapped up in his own issues these past few days, fighting a silent war with his own identity, and fearful for what he might do to those he loved, that a genuine display of how much his friends truly cared for him nearly knocked him off his feet. For the first time since his revelation in the server room, he felt a small spark of optimism.

He just hoped that, once Rotor and the others discovered the truth, they'd still feel this way.

"I...I appreciate that. But I still don't want you coming in with me. You've got your blaster, right?"

"Always."

Tails glanced skyward, "Then get to the top of one of these trees and spot me. I don't plan to get into any trouble, but if I do, some cover fire would really help."

"Consider it done, but don't think I'm happy about this. You owe me one hell of an explanation after all this."

"You're not the only one," Tails commented under his breath.

* * *

**o-o-o-o**

* * *

"Bogey at 3-o-clock, Tails. 'Round the corner."

"Roger."

Tails already knew that, of course. Now that he was down in the thick of it, his cybernetic link was strong enough to pinpoint any nearby enemies that might accost him. Still, it was nice to have the backup, plus the comfort of a familiar voice. A little redundancy was more than welcome if it meant he could get in and out of this hellhole without incident, and for once, Tails didn't feel like he was completely alone in this fight.

He waited until the aforementioned bot was out of sight before slipping around the edge of the main building. His target wasn't there, but was instead an unassuming (some might say squatty) outbuilding nearby, decorated with all the taste one would expect from the doctor. Which is to say, none at all. Not all Robotnik outposts contained a dedicated network terminal, but by necessity, they all contained some access point to the infrastructure, which Tails knew with near certainty was in that shack.

Dipping past a few more roaming guards, Tails got to work on the door to the building. A simple keycode lock that he could hack in his sleep even if he weren't a walking computer; doubtlessly the doctor didn't expect anyone to show much interest in this particular access point.

_Not covering your bases, doc,_ Tails thought idly to himself, _Guess it's that ego of yours._

With a simple wireless interface - not from his communicator, but from himself - the android was through the system and in the door. The equipment in the one-room structure was basic, as he expected, and possessed no terminal, but that was fine. He was going to _be_ the terminal, after all.

The front panel of the central machine opened without resistance, and Tails got to work connecting with the network. He was getting quite adept at controlling the more robotic elements of his body, and quickly opened the connecting ports that had surprised him in the workshop a mere two days ago. He connected himself to the machine, mentally triggered the interface, and then the world went...digital.

Directly interfacing with a computer while you yourself are a computer was an experience beyond description. It was nothing like in the movies, as one might have expected, where the hero wanders around in a stylized dreamscape of pixels and electronic noises, looking for a physical representation of files and folders.

No, Tails was in another headspace, an experience completely removed from traditional concepts of self. The sea of information surrounded him, though in this realm he had no body. He didn't move through the network so much as he became a part of the network. He didn't see, or hear, or feel, he could only know or not know.

And he knew what he was after.

He became aware of the breadth of the system, and to be quite honest he wasn't entirely ready for it. But he was part of it from the beginning, in a way, so it detected no intrusion. He was free to traverse the cyberscape at his discretion. It took him a moment to get his bearings, but soon enough he was able to navigate his consciousness well enough to track down the logs. There were records upon records detailing thousands of projects. Some failed, some were successful. Some were typed, others recorded with video or audio. But the largest was obvious.

**[PROJECT BRUTUS]**

The key to his existence, the answers he needed, were right there at his metaphysical fingertips. He tapped into the data, and with as much terror as excitement, initiated the download.

Only to be suddenly and unceremoniously thrust out of the cyberscape.

The metallic, tinny voice he heard next sounded from his left as Tails jerked back into consciousness, the words only barely resembling coherent speech as his mind struggled to re-adapt to the material world. As he whirled around the fox found himself face-to-face with the tell-tale red eyes of a SWATbot.

"Tails! Tails come in! _KID!_ **_GET OUTTA THERE!_**"


	8. This Can't Go On

**WOAH! Guess who's back! So, so sorry for the length of time this update took, and that it's not longer. Life's crazy right now, for obvious reasons, but things are looking up over here and I'm finally in a place to start writing again. **

**Anyway, here's chapter seven! I remember my dad once complaining about the novel ****_Great Expectations, _****saying that "all that book is a bunch of suffering. Nothing good ever happens." I promise this one won't be like that! But...there will be a little more suffering, lol.**

**Also, one part of this chapter reminded me of something that I don't think I've really mentioned yet, but in this sort of semi-AU we're working with here, all of the main characters are slightly aged up. So Sonic, Sally, and the rest are around their early to mid 20's, while Tails (disregarding his mechanical nature) appears to be around 16-17. It's not super pertinent to the plot, but hopefully that helps explain why they're more involved in government affairs.**

**Now, on with the show and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**o~o~o~o**

* * *

Antoine had learned the hard way in his life that forming an opinion too quickly could be costly. Friendly faces could hide cold hearts, and conversely, those who shut you out may prove later to be steadfast and loyal companions.

Nevertheless, the coyote decided that he rather liked Dr. Bluth, the man who had met them upon their arrival at what they now knew to be the Iron Gate Military Intelligence Compound (or, as one of their pilot escorts had called it, "Iron Mike"). The lynx carried himself with confidence and poise, but retained an air of congeniality that made him approachable rather than intimidating. He was an understated sort of man from a physical standpoint; Antoine guessed he must have stood around 5'7", but his lithe form ensured a gate that invoked a graceful disposition. His lab coat was pressed and shone a brilliant white, with a clipboard secured squarely under his arm.

"A pleasure to meet you both," he had commented upon their introduction, "I've heard much about the illustrious Freedom Fighters, but this is my first time seeing any of you in the flesh!"

And if Antoine's chest puffed out slightly in pride, well, who could blame him?

The pair of them now found themselves following Dr. Bluth through a veritable wonderland of high-tech machinery and equipment. Bluth had explained that, although this location was indeed used as a base for the United Federation's airborne forces, it primarily served as a major arm of the nation's military research and development, with a particular focus on both the combat and civilian applications of chaos energy.

"Not that I don't appreciate having you," Bluth began as they narrowly avoided a collision with a distracted research assistant, "But I highly doubt you risked getting shot out of the sky purely for a social visit."

"Zat is true," Antoine responded, "We are to be acting as official representatives of His Majesty. Zere is a matter of national security to discuss."

The man nodded, his face now one of strictly business, "Unfortunately, I expected as much. This is my office," he said as he stopped near a nondescript wooden door and pulled a key card from one of his seemingly millions of pockets, "We can speak more privately here."

Upon entering, the researcher's workstation was certainly a far cry from what the two Freedom Fighters might have expected. A less charitable person might have called it cramped. Stuffed into every nook and corner of the space were various and seemingly unrelated knick-knacks. Model military planes adorned shelves lining the eastern wall; degrees, certifications, and awards hung proudly and covered the western one; a bust of who-knows-who rested in the corner next to a bag of golf clubs; and in the center of it all sat a large, ornate desk covered in all manner of maps, files, sticky notes, and office supplies.

It seemed that recent developments had been putting strain on more than just the Kingdom.

"Now," he began, settling down behind his desk, "While I'm not exactly on the front lines, as the head of a military R&D department, the President is somewhat obligated to keep me in the loop regarding international relations. I've heard rumblings that the situation with Robotnik has become quite a bit more difficult lately. I assume this is related?"

"Oui," Antoine said with a nod, "Rest assured, monsieur, ze United Federation eez in no direct danger. We are merely to ascertain ze location of ze Chaos Emeralds to ensure zey are being safely kept."

"We spoke with Knuckles recently," Bunnie continued, "He told us that he felt an energy signature in this region, and when we learned your base was here, we figured that you would be the ones containing it."

"You would be correct," the lynx responded, "You'll be happy to know that the Emerald is being held with special containment procedures within one of our basement sub-levels. All due precautions have been taken, I can promise you that."

"That's fantastic to hear. May we see it?" Bunnie questioned, her voice laced with just a touch of that Rabbot charm Antoine had come to recognize, "Not that we don't trust y'all, but we were given this job by King Max, and I'm sure he would want us to be thorough."

Bluth raised an eyebrow, but responded with a playful smile of his own.

"Of course."

* * *

**o~o~o~o**

* * *

At first, Tails merely stood staring down the barrel of the laser cannon, frozen in shock. Being discombobulated from his sudden return to consciousness was bad enough, but having to deal with an imminently life-or-death situation on top of that was just a bit much, even for the kind of week he'd been having.

As such, he didn't find the presence of mind to move until the bot opened fire. Tails dodged the first two shots fairly easily, if a bit narrowly, but he had no way of knowing how much charge a SWATbot laser cannon held, and he had no intention of finding out in such close quarters.

The fox lunged toward his attacker and out of the way of the third blast. Still keeping low to the ground, Tails whipped his namesakes around with a quick, precise spin, and his enemy collapsed to the ground as its legs were taken out. Almost reflexively, Tails deployed his wrist ray and sent a powerful and devastating shot through the SWATbot's core, leaving it nothing more than a writhing metal husk.

He didn't have time to bask in his victory however, as when he exited the building he was met by hoards of Robotnik's metal minions closing in. No doubt every bot in the vicinity had been alerted to the intruders' presence.

"Tails! There's too many of 'em!" Rotor hollered through the radio, "I'm comin' down there; you need back-up."

_Nope. Nuh-uh. No-can-do._ An army of SWATbots was bad, but manageable. With his enhanced combat abilities, Tails had been able to incapacitate Knuckles in moments, after all. But with Rotor in the mix, not only would he have another body to look out for, but he wouldn't be able to overtly use any of his cybernetic enhancements to his advantage.

"Rotor, no!" the fox responded, "You promised you'd stay clear of this; I'll clear a path and work my way toward you."

Tails wasted no time taking to the sky as he flew over the first grouping of bots. He just as quickly dropped down as soon as he was clear, well aware that he was an easy target alone in the air. He sprinted toward the next cluster, using his Tails to propel him, and struck two of his foes with a brutal spindash. It was a move that Sonic had long relied on, but Tails too had picked it up rather quickly after hours of instruction and practice. His newfound speed and strength had only served to amplify its effectiveness.

He barely registered the bots exploding behind him as he raced for the treeline. What he did register, though, was the lazer fire zipping past his right ear. At first, he mentally cheered his good luck, only for the small victory to dissipate into mounting dread as he realized that the blasts hadn't been aimed at him at all.

Near the same underbrush he had used for cover upon his entry, Rotor came into view, having left his perch amongst the trees to join the fray. He'd accumulated a respectable pile of SWATbot corpses in his general vicinity, but was blindsided by the new attackers. Tails only had time for a single shout of warning, and Rotor turned to be met by a blindingly bright laser blast searing through his hip. With a yelp of pain, he went down in a heap.

"_**Rotor!**_"

Tails whipped himself around, firing off a perfectly placed blast of his own from his wrist ray straight into the offending bot's core, and the foe was down for the count. While the immediate area had been cleared, Tails had no way of knowing how many enemies were left inside the complex, or if any would be coming from other outposts.

Tails sprinted to his fallen teammate, fearful of what he would find once he got there. He could see the prone form of his friend draped over one of the many metal husks that littered the ground, and prayed with rage and fear in equal measure that he would find a pulse when he got there.

The android slid to a stop on his knees next to his friend, rolling him off of the SWATbot as gently as he dared, and the groan of pain that Rotor let out may as well have been a beautiful symphony to Tails' ears.

"Rotor, stay still. You've been hit. You've been hit," Tails advised. The walrus had a very visible entry wound (and Tails guessed an exit wound as well) just above his right thigh, but thankfully away from anything vital. As a Freedom Fighter, Tails was trained in basic first aid, but he was without any usable supplies and still within extremely hostile territory; they didn't have the luxury.

"Rotor, I'm gonna pick you up, okay? We gotta get back to the Tornado."

His only response was gritted profanity. The blast may not have hit an organ but a laser wound was still serious in its own right, and Rotor was losing blood at a not-insignificant rate. The sooner they got him to the nearest hospital, the better. Tails helped his staggering teammate to his feet, and could see a dreary haze of pain in the walrus' eyes. Tails draped Rotor's left arm over his shoulder and propped him up against his own weight, and the two began a brisk but ungainly journey back through the forest.

Tails could easily have carried Rotor to the plane, but even in his bleary state Rotor would no doubt notice that under normal circumstances a teenage fox shouldn't be capable of bearing his entire weight at once. However, it wasn't purely selfish reasoning that kept them grounded; the thick canopy of trees helped obscure the two escapees from any lingering enemies, and keeping Rotor conscious was an added benefit. So, they trudged through the damp lowlands, marching steadfastly in the direction of the lake from whence they'd come.

_Stupid, Miles. Stupid stupid stupid! _Tails mentally scolded, _Of course he was going to come in after you! You've known Rotor for how long now? And you thought he'd just hang out in the trees while you were getting shot at?_

He decided then and there that Robotnik was getting an extra few teeth knocked out for neglecting his common sense programming.

They were just about to crest the treeline when Tails' radar pinged something. Movement, closing in fast on their 4, imperceptible to a normal Mobian. But, of course, an android fox was no normal Mobian, and neither was the airborne SWATbot dicing through the trees.

"GET DOWN!" Tails shouted, and threw himself and Rotor to the forest floor as a laser cannon sailed over them, obliterating the trunk of a nearby tree and sending splinters raining down.

Rotor cried out, obviously not taking the fall very well. Tails hoped the injury hadn't worsened (the brambles and twigs in the thicket couldn't possibly be good for an open wound), but it wasn't as though he could avert his eyes to check.

As the attacker zipped past, Tails jumped to his feet and stood protectively over his friend, his vision flitting from tree to tree for any sign of the SWATbot's inevitable return. He could feel it on the edge of his proximity senses, but he'd still need a good visual if he wanted to get a critical shot off.

"So," Rotor's strained voice piped up from the ground, "I guess it wouldn't be any use...ugh...telling you to go on without me?" Despite being shot literally five minutes ago, he still had the wherewithal to inject some humor into his voice.

_Guess that's the old Freedom Fighter spirit. Sonic would be proud._

Tails managed a chuckle himself, despite the situation, "Not anymore useful than me telling you to stay in the trees."

"Touché."

Tails could hear it now, the subtle whirring of the bot's electric engine. It was making its way back, coming from the North.

"Rotor, I need you to stay down. Whatever happens, don't get up," Tails warned, "And if you see anything weird...well, I _do _owe you an explanation anyway."

The fox had been dead set on avoiding using his cybernetic powers at any point during this mission, for obvious fear of Rotor coming to unsavory conclusions, but he hadn't planned on a mad dash through the woods with his partner on the verge of bleeding out. Rotor needed to get back to the plane, and Tails wasn't about to take any more chances for the sake of his own secret. He wasn't going to let his friend die because of what he was.

He had to act.

As the bot came into view, it seemed to Tails that the whole world shifted. A sheet of focus enveloped his mind, and Tails seemed to be an observer, watching the actions unfold from within his own body. He was making the decisions, but his movements were near autonomous. His emotions swirled and crashed against each other in a fiery whirlwind that his body seemed to channel into pure energy.

Tails removed his bag and stood silently, observing the bot's every move. It could have been years that he stood there, until the faintest glow from his target's front cannon signaled the beginning of the end for the mechanical demon. Tails chucked his bag at the bot just as its cannon fired, and the resulting impact ripped the parchment to shreds, sending the various gadgets and supplies held within flying in a cascade of metal and sparks.

Before the light show even had a chance to clear the air, Tails' arm had transformed fully into a blaster, and was already raised and locked onto its target. A brilliant, deadly blue erupted from what only moments ago was the android's hand, and the doomed droid had no chance in the world of evading.

It was only after his enemy was disintegrated, along with two or three trees on the other side, that Tails' faculties returned to normal. He surveyed the damage with a mix of awe and concern. There was nothing left of the SWATbot that he could see, unless its smoking remains had come to rest somewhere out of view, which was a distinct possibility. Charred wood littered the ground where massive trees once stood, now reduced to nothing but jagged stumps, their trunks burned away and their tops sent crashing to the ground. All from a single blast.

He supposed that was about right. He was built to kill, after all.

A suffocating silence gripped the woods in the aftermath of the brief engagement, which couldn't have lasted more than five seconds. Tails braced himself for his teammate's reaction. Would he fear him? Hate him? Would he shun his assistance? Either way, there was no putting it off. No normal Mobian could have thrown that bag with such precision, much less transformed their arm into a piece of heavy artillery. So, with steely determination, Tails turned to look, to face his possibly former friend…

...only to see him passed out on the forest floor.

Tails had never felt relief and horror at the same time before, and it certainly wasn't a welcome experience. Hastily, Tails dropped down and traced his fingers along Rotor's neck, before finally and thankfully ascertaining a weak but steady pulse.

_Blood loss must have caught up with him. We're running out of time._

So, with no way of knowing how much Rotor had seen, no way of explaining what exactly had just happened out in the middle of the woods, and having had just about enough espionage for one day, Tails lifted Rotor into a bridal carry, took to the sky, and made a beeline for the Tornado and its holy grail of first-aid supplies.

* * *

**o~o~o~o**

* * *

"One emerald, located and secured for the lady in waiting!"

Sally looked up from her tablet to see Sonic strolling confidently toward the small rock outcrop she'd claimed as her seat, one hand behind his back and the other presenting a brilliant emerald shining from within its electronic prison, an obvious attempt to emulate a maitre d'.

Sally huffed a laugh, only half sarcastic. "Good job, blue wonder. By the way, you know that's not what 'lady in waiting' means, right?"

"Ah, to-may-to to-mah-to. You're a lady, and you're waiting. That's a good enough pun in my eyes."

"Actually, I'm _not_ waiting," the princess retorted, "I just got a hold of Bunnie. They're at Iron Gate, a UF military research complex. She says the emerald is secured, and a Dr. Bluth, head of chaos energy research, has given them full assurance that it will be fully available to us in the event it's needed. He even gave them a full rundown on their energy containment units."

"Boom," Sonic exclaimed, "Looks like we're ready to rock. Y'know, to be honest, I thought this whole search was a little excessive at first, but then we found this guy just laying out here in the open. Coulda been bad if we'd just let it sit."

"Absolutely," Sally concurred, her eyes drifting across the rolling hills of the Marble Gardens. A few trees dotted the landscape here and there, but for the most part the region was windswept grass and open sky as far as the eye could see. Robotnik would have had little to no trouble finding his prize out here, "And it's not just that, either," she continued, "Apparently they met up with some Robotnik drones just before they crossed the border."

"Woah. No kiddin'?"

Sally nodded, "They took care of it with some help from a United Federation squadron, but the last thing I expected was for them to be attacked so far away from enemy territory. If I'd known that would happen I wouldn't have let them go off in just a bi-plane."

"Great, just what we need. Now if we could just get ol' Penn to fork over some planes for us next time we go traipsing half-way across the country, we'd be golden. I mean, I get that there'd be money involved, but we're the Freedom Fighters for cryin' out loud! Tails is just one guy; he can only build so many jets, and I think we can do a little better than having to carpool with planes like kids on the way to soccer practice. And hey-"

Sonic's complaints were all at once cut off by the stark tone of his and Sally's communicators. It was a low, droning sound, one that both of them instantly recognized: the distress signal. The two locked eyes as Sally quickly opened her device.

"It's Tails," she stated simply, and immediately answered the call.

"Freedom Fighter down. Repeat, Freedom Fighter down," Tails reported through the line. His voice was clear and level, so much so that they knew the young fox must have been fighting down his panic in an effort to remain clinical, "Rotor's been shot. He's lost a lot of blood. The closest hospital is in Minton. I'm en route."

Sally found a look of disbelief mirrored in Sonic's eyes.

"Shot!?" Sally exclaimed, "Tails, what happened? How far are you from the hospital?"

"Five minutes, give or take. I'm at top speed, Sally. Just meet me there."

"Tails, how did he get shot? Were you near the outpost? Come in, Tails!"

Sally took in breath to continue, but it was no use as the line immediately went dead. Sonic the Hedgehog and Sally Acorn stood in silence in the middle of an idyllic countryside, processing what they'd just heard.

"Rotor's been shot."


	9. Out of Kindness, I Suppose

The dim, stale light of the single-occupant restroom was only made worse by the fact that one of the bulbs had long ago given out. The one that remained cast a sickly yellow glow across the small space, as well as the distraught android fox that sat on the cold tile against the back wall, his head angled up at the ceiling. He'd retreated here the moment he'd heard that Rotor's condition was stable and had been lost in thought ever since.

Minton General Hospital was, thankfully, quite well-equipped to handle trauma cases, and they had also graciously allowed Tails to park the Tornado on the helipad in VTOL mode. Both were very large reasons Rotor was still alive and coming along well in surgery at the moment. He was in the care of a Dr. Horatio Quack, if Tails heard correctly, apparently one of the finest physicians in the world. All things considered, this was the best place his friend and teammate could possibly be.

It was less great for the fox himself, as it was his own hubris and carelessness that led to Rotor's injuries in the first place, and if that weren't enough, his other teammates would doubtlessly arrive any moment, rightfully demanding an explanation as to how such a routine mission could have gone so disastrously wrong.

And Tails found he couldn't come up with a satisfactory answer.

Slowly, he dragged himself off of the soulless surface and made his way to the mirror. He didn't look any different, really, aside from appearing particularly battle-worn. He was the same as he had always been, which was the worst part of knowing. Knowing that underneath such a perfectly innocent fox was a lethal weapon ready and waiting to obliterate anything in its path. Plainly, he was scared. Scared of himself, scared of his creator, scared of his _friends _.

"I don't think there's any worming my way out of it this time," he spoke aloud to his reflection, "They're going to know soon, anyway. For better or worse...I have to tell them."

He glared at his reflection, at this demon that had taken over his life. He wasn't so blind as to not notice. He was more violent lately, more prone to lying and manipulation. The thing that scared him most, however, was the intrusive thoughts. Subconsciously, he'd begun to think of his friends as intrinsically beneath him. They were organic, after all, flesh and blood, and his cybernetic side had been slowly trying to convince him that they were indeed inferior. As he became more in tune with his mechanical body, his computerized mind grappled with his personality.

"I am _not _giving into you," he growled at the glass, "I'm not going to become like _him _. I'm my own person! I'm _not evil _!"

A flash, and suddenly the reflection staring back at him did so with deep, crimson irises, surrounded by pitch black sclera. Tails gasped harshly and stumbled away from the visage, landing on his back and propped up by his elbows. He scrambled backward from the mirror, closed his eyes, and furiously shook his head in a desperate attempt to reign himself in.

After a few seconds, he hauled himself up once more, and saw that, thankfully, his eyes had returned to their usual sky blue. The metal sink, on the other hand, had bent and warped under his grip. Tails rushed out of the restroom and into the blindingly white hall just in time to hear the message over the intercom.

"_Miles Prower to reception. Miles Prower to reception._"

* * *

**o-o-o-o**

* * *

Sonic had never particularly enjoyed hospitals. He supposed that was probably typical of him. They so often involved sitting around, sometimes for days and weeks on end, in blank, sterile rooms, eating cardboard food, watching the same old game shows on TV. Nah, not for him, thanks. His past experiences with injuries had seen him recuperating in his bedroom or on the couch at home, with not much more than bandages and the occasional splint to right whatever ailed him.

But Sonic had been on the receiving end of a laser blast once before; enhanced speed and agility can only get you so far, and eventually his luck had failed him. There were no words to describe the relief he felt when he was rushed through the hospital doors on that occasion. With that kind of pain, the white coat of a skilled doctor might as well be the robes of an angel.

The tinny intercom pinged on, the receptionist rotely calling Tails to reception so that he could, hopefully, fill them in on what had happened.

"Maybe they were ambushed, like Antoine and Bunnie," Sally offered, beginning her third trek down the isle of seats. She was big about pacing while thinking.

"I mean, could be," Sonic replied, fidgeting in the supremely uncomfortable waiting room chair, "But it couldn't have been in the air. Tails made it sound like Rotor got hit directly. I doubt that could have happened while they were in the plane."

"So they had to be on foot when it happened. But they were miles away from the base, still! How could…"

"Sal," Sonic interrupted, "Just hang back a bit. We'll be able to talk to the doctors and Tails in a minute; we'll get the full picture from them."

No sooner had the sentence left Sonic's mouth did a door near reception open, and out walked a stern, rigid duck. He looked to be in his mid-40's, early 50's at most, with a glare that could melt steel despite the fact that it was coming from only one eye, the other covered by a stark black eyepatch. Contrasting his vicious appearance, the man also wore the tell-tale white of a doctor hard at work, with a clipboard tucked securely under his arm. He wasted no time in locating and making his way toward the two Freedom Fighters.

"Princess," he greeted stiffly, "Dr. Horatio Quack. I've been assigned to your teammate."

Sally, previously still lost in thought, snapped her eyes to meet the doctors', "He's in surgery, right? That's all the receptionist could tell us."

"He is. I just came out to tell you that it's going very well, all things considered. He gave us a pretty big scare with the blood loss, but thankfully your other friend was able to get him here in time."

"So how's he lookin', doc?" Sonic inquired, "Nothin' permanent?"

"Well, we'll know more once we get him into recovery, but the blast didn't hit any organs. It's possible he may have some minor nerve damage around the wound but other than that I don't see anything that would be cause for concern."

"When will we get to see him?"

"That's tricky. He should be moved to recovery within the next half-hour, but we'll want to monitor him there until we're positive he's stable enough to move to a room. Even then, he'll probably be under for a while. I would guess he probably won't be up for conversation until tomorrow morning."

"We gotcha, doc. We can hang," Sonic assured.

Sally's eyes were studying the doctor's features, however, and her head was cocked to the side in thought.

"You look familiar, doctor," she mused, "I don't suppose we've met before?"

A small smirk broke through the doctor's stone expression, "I wasn't sure if you would remember, but yes, we have. I was the royal physician quite a long time ago; gave you your first ever checkup."

"Oh, of course! You were a field medic beforehand, right? I'm sure I've heard my father mention you."

The doctor nodded, "Yes, we do go back quite a ways. Give him a shout for me if you feel so inclined; it's been too long since I've seen ol' Max. Now if you'll excuse me, I should get back in there. We're just about to finish up."

"Of course."

Only a few seconds after Dr. Quack left did a ragged and disheveled orange and white figure round the corner into the waiting room. Sally rushed over, immediately embracing Tails, followed swiftly by Sonic.

"Tails! Tails, please tell me you're okay," Sally crooned, her eyes radiating concern.

"Uh, yeah...yeah, I'm alright, Sally. I mean, I've felt better but...I'm not hurt."

Sally stepped back, and sent a quick, wary glance over to Sonic, who met her eyes. The unspoken agreement was clear: _this can't be put off any longer _.

"Tails, bud," Sonic began, "Can we talk? Like, just the three of us?"

"Yeah," Tails replied, his eyes wandering everywhere and nowhere at once, "I think...I think we probably should."

It didn't take too long to find an empty waiting room in some out-of-the-way alcove of the wing. A quick word of notice to a nearby nurse, and the trio were gathered around the small coffee table in the oddly cozy room, door locked and away from prying eyes.

The room sat stagnant and still for a moment, before Sally tentatively began, "So, Tails. What happened?"

"…"

"Were you ambushed?"

"...no. We...weren't ambushed."

"Then what happened, bud?" Sonic added gently, "We can't help if we don't know what went wrong."

"Look, I'll tell you everything that happened. Just...you're going to hear a lot more than I think you want to know."

Sally looked over to Sonic for backup, only to see the same growing fear on his face that she was sure was present on her own. What exactly happened out there by the lake? What had Tails been going through these past few days that seemed to perpetually cast a shadow over him? Were the answers to these questions at all related?

_I have a feeling we're about to find out, _Sally thought.

"We...well - it's more accurate to say _I _\- went into the outpost. Deliberately."

The clock ticked twice as the two others in the room took a moment to process that bit of information.

"You..._ what? _" Sally demanded, voice laced with anger, incredulity, and concern.

"Tails...why would you do that!?" Sonic added.

"Okay, before you say anything else," Tails interjected, not trusting himself to pry his eyes from the knot in the coffee table he'd been centering on, "It's all my fault. We got to the lake where the emerald was located and split up to cover more ground. I found it pretty quickly, and secured it, but when we met up on the other side of the water, I...I told Rotor I didn't see it. I tried to send him back toward the plane while I secretly went into the outpost to get what I needed...but he shadowed me and insisted that he back me up."

"So it was my decision to even go near the place at all. I was the one who went in, I even tried to send Rotor away so he wouldn't get tangled up in anything. I figured if I could get in and out quick enough he wouldn't even need to know I was gone. And if he hadn't followed me, I might have been able to."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Sally commented.

"What? That he followed me? He wasn't supposed to get involved!"

"Of course he was going to get involved; you were on a mission together!" Sally's voice was only barely below a shout, and it was everything she could do to restrain herself, "But more than that, why was there anything to get involved with in the first place, Miles? Why did you lie to your teammate and willingly enter into enemy territory without backup?

"Robotnik has some extremely sensitive intel in his network. I was trying to get in and grab it before a SWATbot tracked me down."

"That doesn't answer my question," Sally responded, "What could this intel possibly have been? That it was so important you felt it necessary to jeopardize both you and your teammate's lives with zero authorization?"

Tails' right hand was by now gripping the armchair, his hold becoming tighter by the minute. This detail was not lost on Sonic, who was watching the fox's growing stress with mounting concern.

"C'mon, Sal," Sonic interjected, "Let's at least let him try to explain."

"I don't know what kind of explanation could justify something so...so...negligent," Sally continued, "Miles, you know better than this! I wouldn't have expected this from _any _of my teammates, but especially not from you."

"Sally, I'll tell you, just give me a minute," Tails ground out, "I was doing what I thought was best. I was trying to protect everyone."

" _Protect _? Rotor nearly died because of your carelessness!"

"Sal!"

Sonic's word of warning coincided with Tails wrenching his eyes open, but the glare that radiated from them wasn't the sky blue of the kind-hearted young man they'd accompanied into the room. These eyes were pitch black, with hellfire irises blazing. The grip he held on the chair tightened further, the wood splintering, and in one sheer motion the thing that looked like Tails slung the chair away, shattering it and embedding pieces into the drywall.

"The hell!?" Sonic hollered.

The monster's right arm revealed a small but definitely powerful laser blaster above its wrist, and a deadly blue light was promptly aimed in the direction of the two senior Freedom Fighters.

"Sonic, get down!"

The princess grabbed her companion and pulled him behind the relative safety of the nearest couch as a shot whizzed past them, shattering an outside window. Sally hopped back over their makeshift cover and drew her weapon in an attempt to fire, but the enemy reacted quickly, kicking the gun from her hand and aiming a punch for her jaw. She blocked, and Sonic, sensing an opportunity, lept from behind the couch to confront the attacker. He got one good right hook in, but it seemed to barely faze the android, who delivered a devastating knee to Sonic's ribs and a subsequent elbow to the back, sending the hedgehog to the floor.

Sonic rose as quickly as he could to prepare for an onslaught, but none came. He instead whirled around to see Sally in a headlock with the laser blaster pointed directly at her temple. The deceiver's brimstone eyes held the hedgehog firmly on the other side of the room, an unspoken promise of what he would do should anyone make a sudden movement.

"What are you?" Sonic demanded through gritted teeth, "Robotnik sent you, yeah?"

No response.

"Okay, then," he continued, "Let's try something else: where's Tails?"

The villain still stood motionless, his grip on Sally tightening.

"Where's Tails, you son of a bitch!?"

"**Call the King.**"

The voice was Tails', yet it was not. Beneath his usual raspy tenor lurked a deep, distorted growl. It shook Sonic's soul to hear such a sound come from (what at least appeared to be) his own brother.

"What are you talking about?"

"**Call the King, or the Princess dies.**"

"Sonic, do what he says," Sally ordered, and her tone broached no argument.

After a moment's deliberation, Sonic slowly raised his wrist and dialed his communicator. Sally's words were as even and confident as they could be with the pressure on her windpipe, but he'd known her all her life, and he could see in her eyes that the situation was dire. How had they let some imposter pose as their friend and not even noticed the difference? How long had they been in the dark? And most importantly,_ where was Tails_?

The digital ring of the device was the only sound in the room aside from two beating hearts, and Sonic didn't dare to think what the imposter would do should the King not answer. Thankfully, the third ring came through.

"Sonic, what is it?" He already sounded concerned; news must have reached him about Rotor.

"We got a situation here, Max."

Before the King could respond, Sonic turned the device to capture the scene before him, "Looks like Grandpa Ivo snuck a present in without us knowing. This tin can's been pretendin' to be Tails for who knows how long."

"**Quiet,**" the robot ordered, "**King Maximilian, you will contact Dr. Ivo Robotnik and surrender Mobotropolis to his forces within the hour, or the Princess will be killed. There will be no negotiation."**

Sonic clenched his teeth. He had a feeling something like that was coming, not that it helped him at all. They were at a loss, and though he knew Sally was hard-headed enough to die for the Kingdom, it's not a thought the hedgehog was willing to entertain.

"Well I'm sure you know," the King replied, his voice steely and calm, "that neither of those things will be happening."

Sonic balked only for a fraction of a second, before he realized what the King had surely seen. Ever since the standoff had begun, Sally's hand had been slowly, steadily reaching for her belt, and it seemed she'd finally found what she was looking for.

A press of a button, and Sonic's communicator was immediately jammed, and the android locked up. The experimental, portable EMP's Rotor had recently developed weren't particularly strong, and could only stun a significantly advanced battle droid for a few seconds.

But for a Freedom Fighter, a few seconds is more than enough.

* * *

**o-o-o-o**

* * *

When Tails came to his senses, he was on the floor, with his hands restrained behind his back and a weight on top of him. He turned his head, only to have it grabbed and slammed back down onto the carpet.

"Don't move," a familiar voice growled.

Tails nearly began to protest, but then the hazy, blood-red memories of the past few minutes steamrolled him. He'd entered that fugue state again, where the war machine took over and Miles Prower was merely along for the ride. But this time, he had been guided. Something beyond his own motivations had been directing him. Something wholly malignant.

**_[BRUTUS]_**

_Shit shit shit SHIT! NO! This wasn't how it was supposed to go! How did this even happen? _

_Did I…? _

Tails was instantly relieved when he registered Sally speaking into her communicator on the other side of the room. Okay, at least he hadn't done anything irreversible...maybe. His mind was still sluggish, so he couldn't make out the entirety of her conversation, but he was pretty sure he heard the words "impostor", "machine", and "G.U.N.", so things didn't appear to be in a particularly great spot.

"Sonic-"

"No, you don't get to talk," Sonic interrupted, "You'll get your chance when you tell us where the real Tails is."

The real Tails. Of course they would think him an imposter. In a way, he sort of was, living a lie for going on a decade, deceiving everyone into thinking he was truly their friend. He didn't know, he couldn't have known, but that didn't change the fact that he was little more than a metal shell playing pretend.

"I'm so sorry," said Tails, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Sorry!? You're kiddin' me! That EMP musta knocked a few screws loose in your processor," Sonic berated, "Well you can drop the whole 'play nice' act, your cover's been blown."

"You don't understand," Tails said, voice wavering, "It's me Sonic. This is what I _am _, what I've always been, the whole time I've known you."

The android was tugged from the floor and subsequently slung into the wall.

"Y'know, for a robo-lackey, you gotta lot of damn nerve," Sonic spat, "You think I wouldn't notice in ten years if my own brother was a robot or not? I've seen Tails eat, sleep, I've even seen him bleed. Don't you _dare _compare my brother to some junkyard scrap."

"I…" Tails began, but had to pause to bite back the tears, "I was built for deception. And it worked, too. I didn't even know what I was until a week ago. I didn't want you to find out like this; I was going to tell you, I swear, but...I don't know, something took hold of me."

"Yeah, I'll bet. Do us a favor and keep your mouth shut; your little game's over."

Sonic dropped Tails to the floor and turned to Sally who was approaching their side of the room. She directed a piercing scowl in his direction, but otherwise didn't acknowledge him.

"The hospital's on lockdown until we can get him out of here safely," she reported, her voice slightly hoarse from the altercation, "Father says Penn and his team are on their way to transport him."

Sonic nodded and returned his attention back to Tails, "Think he's secure enough?"

"Those cuffs are made from the strongest grade steel we have, and that EMP should still be affecting him for the next few hours," Sally confirmed, "We should be able to hold him just fine until they get here."

The cuffs were, indeed, quite strong, and if he were so inclined, Tails wasn't sure he could break out of them unless he were to return to combat mode, which he had absolutely zero intention of doing. This was probably what he deserved, after all. He was an enemy, whether he wanted to be or not. He just wished he didn't have to see his friends, his _family _, glare at him with such pure hatred.

He just wished he'd had the chance to tell them.

The rest of the time spent in the ruined waiting room went by in a daze. At some point, Sally had gone out into the hallway, presumably to ensure the lockdown was being enforced, and Sonic stayed behind to keep an eye on the Acorn Kingdom's newest enemy. No more words were spoken, but the fury in Sonic's eyes said more than Tails could bear to hear.

Eventually he was removed by armed men and half-escorted half-shoved into a service elevator. He vaguely recognized some of the people around him: that raccoon that was always hanging around the general, as well as Penn himself. He seemed to be taking part in his usual less-than-courteous banter with Sonic, until the elevator doors opened and their conversation drastically increased in volume, drawing Tails' attention back to reality.

"Wait, _what!? _" Sonic cried incredulously as the android was shepherded toward an armored van, "You can't be serious!"

The basement parking garage to which they'd escorted their interloper was practically deserted. Panic at the hospital had, apparently, been kept to a minimum, but you don't have a brief life-or-death struggle with a killer robot without attracting at least _some _attention. The fact that this confrontation happened in a civilian space only seemed to heighten the general's already perpetually ill demeanor.

"You heard me, Hedgehog," Penn retorted, "The robot, as of this moment, is property of G.U.N. and the Acorn Kingdom. You and the Princess are to stay away from it and this investigation indefinitely."

"This is ridiculous! This thing comes 'round and tries to kill us by impersonating our friend - who's still missing, by the way - and we're just supposed to let you whisk it away?"

"Sonic is right, sir," Sally continued, "We have a team member, and more importantly, a _family member _most likely in Robotnik's clutches. If there's anything that can be uncovered, we're obligated…"

"Look, Your Highness," Penn interrupted, "This is a direct order from your father."

"M-my father?"

"Yeah, the big man himself. He specifically requested no Freedom Fighters be involved in the handling of the android until further notice. Don't ask me why. I don't know; didn't particularly care to ask," the general made a brisk turn to walk back to the vehicle along with his men, "Now as much as I'd love to keep shootin' the shit and wasting time, we got a dangerous enemy weapon to load up in this APC that we probably shouldn't sit on for too long, and I think you got another teammate to worry about here."

As the two Freedom fighters watched, still reeling from the idea of being barred from information regarding their best friend, Tails was guided into the back of the vehicle. Penn climbed into the front, the engine came to life, and just before he closed the door, the general added, "Oh, and be prepared for further instructions. You'll be getting your shot at Robotnik soon enough."

The front door shut, the twin back doors slammed, and Tails was on his way.

* * *

**o-o-o-o**

* * *

The soldiers had been, predictably, quite rough with him. Two sat in the back of the carrier the entire way back to Green Hill, rifles at the ready and itching to fill him with holes at the slightest provocation. It didn't particularly bother him, though. Hearing two of the people he loved most in the world decry him as an object, a monster, was infinitely worse than any bullet.

He dragged his feet on his way into the facility, drawing the ire of his chaperones and earning him a few swift rifle butts to the back. He hadn't done it out of petulance, he was just so damn _tired _. He'd lost everything: his identity; his family; even his conscience was slipping away from him. In less than a week, he had gone from Miles Prower: friend, hero, person, to Project Brutus: thing, killer, weapon.

And still it wasn't over. Now it was time to face what was to come.

He was thrown, quite literally, into the magnetic restraints of a chair in the middle of an oppressive concrete room. The armed entourage did a once-over to make sure he was properly secured, and then unceremoniously disappeared behind the sliding metal door, leaving him alone with his own dread and regret.

It was a long time of sitting after that, sitting and wondering what was in store. Would they even give him a chance to speak? Or would they just rip him apart and go rooting around for data themselves? Would they torture him? He'd like to think not. The Freedom Fighters have had their misgivings about G.U.N. here and there, but he couldn't imagine them stooping to cold-blooded abuse. Then again, would it be abuse, since he was only a machine?

He decided to observe his admittedly sparse surroundings to distract himself from the inevitable. The only other objects to speak of in the room were two additional chairs, identical to his own but without restraints and not bolted to the floor, situated across from him. A lone, uncovered light bulb illuminated the cube, which wasn't terribly difficult due to the small dimensions. He had initially assumed this was a cell, and under normal circumstances it might have been, but that wouldn't explain the chairs. An interrogation, then. At least that implied they'd at least be willing to let him talk, if only so they could dismantle him later on rather than straight away.

Well, so much for distracting himself.

What must have been hours of similar thoughts came and went until a small beep pulled him out of his musings, and the door slid open, admitting two shockingly familiar faces. With a few purposeful strides, King Maximilian and Sir Charles Hedgehog both calmly took their seats opposite the fox, who for his part couldn't muster a single sound. Thankfully, Uncle Chuck took the helm. The hedgehog produced a small remote, and with a flick of his thumb the restraints were disengaged.

"Tails, my boy," he said, a sad but warm smile appearing on his face, "Looks like you're in a bit of a spot, eh?"

* * *

**o-o-o-o**

* * *

**Oh boy! Tails has been revealed...kinda, but it looks like there's more in store for our little foxbot. Thanks so much for your patience, all. I've been working on this one for a while, and I really wanted to get the pacing and dialogue right. Hopefully, I lived up to the expectations. Hope you dug the update!**


End file.
